Prisoner of the Dead
by ineedcoffee
Summary: Sookie's telepathy was discovered before the Vampire's Great Revelation and she was taken by the NSA as a national security risk. What happens when the vampires break her out, only to take her prisoner themselves? AU starts pre-reveal, a little dark, OOC
1. The Fire

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Warning:** M Rating is for violence (some that's pretty graphic) and language...maybe something of an adult nature too, but we'll see. Lots of angst, not much fluff, but I do like a happy ending. This story is completely AU, and rather dark, so please be warned. This story starts prior to the Great Revelation and humans in the vampire circles are not the same as they are in the books. Before the revelation, the vampires did not have to answer to human laws, and humans were more like property of their vampire. Not everyone will like this story, so if you don't like it don't read it.

Thank you jdcoke for your proof-reading/editing skills and encouragement, and thank you to Miss-Beckie-Louise for letting me bounce ideas off of you.

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**Chapter 1: The Fire**

I was barely able to drive because of the tears flowing from my eyes. Another job down the drain. Another failure. I cursed my disability. Gran always said that it was a gift. I was pretty darn sure that I would always consider it a disability.

I pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex. Southern Oaks. I pulled into one of the back parking spaces and put the car into park. I finally let myself break down. I sobbed and tears flowed down my face and dripped into my lap. I hadn't felt like this since I was a child. It was one big pity party. I should be beyond this. I should be stronger. I am a strong independent woman. I should be able to ignore it, but I couldn't. I didn't want to have to ignore all the thoughts bombarding my head every single day.

I'd finally found a new job with a new boss. I really liked my job. I was working at a large public library in Shreveport. It was a long drive, but I couldn't find anywhere in Bon Temps that would be acceptable and it paid reasonably well. Having lived there so long, I knew so many of the secrets, including those of most of the employers in that small town. The only place in town that seemed like it might work was the local bar, Marlotte's. The owner had just bought and refurbished the place and seemed like a decent guy. His thoughts were also much harder to hear, they were hazy. However, listening to a bunch of drunk people all day long wasn't something that I wanted to do. Plus, I loved to read, so a library seemed like the perfect place to work.

Peter, my boss at the library, seemed decent and he had a reputation as a good boss. What I hadn't known until today was that he was a child molester. You see, I did my best to stay out of people's heads. I didn't want to know people's deepest, darkest secrets nor did _they_ want me to know. But today his wife came by with his kids. I stood there in shock for a minute. My general rule is that I never do anything about the thoughts I hear because, frankly, who's going to believe me? I have no proof. But today when I heard his thoughts and the thoughts of his little girl, I just couldn't let it go this time. So I outed him to his wife.

I couldn't just let it go could I? It just wouldn't be right. I know what it's like to be preyed upon by a family member. I wouldn't and couldn't let that continue in good conscience.

His wife didn't believe me of course. She thought I was infatuated with her husband or something. It wasn't until the little girl broke down and admitted that there was something going on that his wife actually listened to both of us.

Poor little girl. Only five years old. Better for her mother to find out now. At least she knows now. At least the little girl won't have to try to convince her mother, only to not be believed.

That's what happened to me when I was a small child. I tried telling my mother, but she told me to stop making up stories. It wasn't until my parents died and my brother and I moved in with my Gran that I was believed. My Gran was an intuitive lady and even though it was her own brother, she still believed me. She told him to leave and never come back. It was such a tremendous relief for me. I don't think about it much anymore, but sometimes hearing people's thoughts…well, I can't just let that kind of thing go.

I sighed and looked out my window. The tears had finally stopped and I was exhausted from my emotional outburst. I was blankly looking at one of the apartments in the complex across the parking lot, not really even thinking, when some minds started shouting at me. My eyes darted around, trying to figure out what was going on. There was smoke pouring from the building I'd been watching. I had been so zoned out that I hadn't even seen what was right in front of my eyes.

Suddenly there was a deafening explosion and part of the building collapsed. Concrete and bricks went flying. Thick black smoke and dust rose above the debris like a mushroom cloud. I got out of my car and ran toward the building. The fire was raging now and there were screams coming from inside, both out loud and inside my head.

I wasn't an expert by any means but the fire seemed to be spreading quickly. By the time I got to the building, there were several neighbors helping people get out. The front door to the building had been propped open and I ran inside.

"Help me please!" A woman cried out. She was attempting to carry an elderly man, but he was too large for her.

"I'll grab his arms, you grab his legs!" I yelled. The sound of the fire was much louder than I would have expected. It was hard to even hear myself. We managed to carry him together, though it was difficult. Parts of the ceiling above us were falling. The building was falling apart around us, but we made it out.

By the time we got out of there, the police and firefighters were there and they took over. We were told to get back and I watched with rapt attention behind the plastic barricades as they started spraying down the flames. I watched the firefighters going in and out and soon they declared that nobody was left inside, but I could still hear screaming in my head.

I hated letting people know about my gift but this was a child. I flagged down one of the firefighters walking past me with an ax slung over his shoulder.

"Miss, you need to let us do our job. You can't go in and try to save your possessions," he said, exasperated.

I was slightly offended. "Sir, there's someone still in there. A child."

"How do you know?" he asked, looking back toward the building.

"I heard something," I said.

"Where?" Good. Straight and to the point.

I closed my eyes for a second trying to pinpoint the voice. I'd never used my disability like this. "Third floor. There's a man and a little boy in the bathroom," I said pointing toward the center of the destruction. The man was unconscious but I could hear the boy trying to wake him up. I opened my eyes and immediately knew I'd made a mistake.

The fireman was looking at me with suspicion. Unfortunately, so was the policeman that had stopped behind him.

After staring at me for several seconds, the fireman took off with a couple of his comrades. That just left me and the policeman. I did my best to look innocent and demure, but I could hear from his thoughts that it made me look more suspicious.

"Miss, how do you know exactly where they are?" he asked, taking out his notebook.

"I just had a feeling," I said warily.

"You had a _feeling_."

"Miss, I'm going to need to take you in for questioning," he said. He took out his handcuffs and I instinctively took a step back.

"Do you really plan on fighting me on this?" he asked, getting a predatory look on his face.

"Am I under arrest?" I asked. How would I explain that to Gran?

"You are being detained on suspicion of arson," he said and then proceeded to handcuff my hands behind my back. I was numb with the shock of it.

Several hours later after being asked question after question that I couldn't answer, I was starting to get scared. I was sitting at a table in an interrogation room sitting across from two of the most muscular police officers I had ever seen. They looked like professional body builders. Only one was speaking. The other gave me sympathetic looks now and then. I think they were supposed to be playing good cop/bad cop, but the good cop was a little too intimidating for that to be very effective. I'm an average woman with two huge muscular men hovering over me, one of them yelling, while I'm being interrogated for a crime of which I was innocent. Excuse me for being a little intimidated.

"Look, Miss Stackhouse. We know that you're lying. What part did you have in this?"

I repeated the same answer I'd been giving them all night. "I was upset when I was driving so I pulled into the parking lot and then I noticed the fire. I was just trying to help."

"Eye witnesses have confirmed that you sat in your car for a long time watching the fire before you got out to help. Did you have second thoughts?"

"I was thinking. I didn't realize that the building was on fire at first," I said. I was very embarrassed that I hadn't noticed something like that because I was so absorbed in my own troubles. The detective gave me a skeptical look.

"Did you lock the boy and his father in the bathroom before you started the fire? You know, they aren't sure if the father is going to make it. He's covered in burns and has severe smoke inhalation. "

I blanched. "I…I didn't do anything. I just… I heard something from that part of the building." I cringed because I knew I wasn't sounding very convincing; their thoughts confirmed that.

"Were you getting revenge? Were you angry when you found out he was married?" Good Cop asked.

"I…I don't even know them. I was just trying to help."

_I know you are involved somehow. Why were you in Shreveport in the first place?_

"I'm _not_ involved. I was in Shreveport because I work there. I was upset because I just quit my job," I answered. After a couple seconds of silence, I realized that he hadn't asked me that question out loud. I kept doing that more and more as I was getting more flustered. I knew that was their goal, which made me even more frustrated.

"How did…"

"I don't'…" I said at the same time.

The quiet one finally spoke up and interrupted us. "Jerry, could you give me and Miss Stackhouse a minute alone?"

"Sure. We're not getting anywhere here. Look, Miss Stackhouse, you need to think really carefully about what you are doing here. If that man dies, you'll be charged with murder. If you start cooperating with us, the judge will take that into consideration. I understand that people make mistakes. It's time for you to own up to yours. Detective Danielson here is a good cop, you can trust him." With that he left the room, leaving me with the quiet one.

"I know you've had a very long day, Miss Stackhouse," Detective Danielson said sympathetically.

"I really don't know anything," I cried. I was so frustrated, so tired, and on the verge of tears. Plus I'd been having a hard time keeping myself shielded. As soon as that thought crossed my mind my mental shields collapsed and the minds of the entire building were talking in my head. I couldn't keep them out.

I took a couple deep breaths and slowly pushed back the thoughts and soon they were at least at a manageable volume.

_I know what you are, _Detective Danielson said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

_I think you _do _know what I'm talking about. I don't think you're crazy._

"I'm not crazy," I whispered.

_I know you're not. It must be so hard hearing people's thoughts all the time._

"It is!" I exclaimed as I looked back up at the policeman. That was when I realized he hadn't been speaking out loud. Once again, I'd messed up. I was usually so much better than this but I was so upset and tired, it was so hard to keep track of.

"Don't be afraid, Miss Stackhouse. I know you didn't start that fire. I'll get Officer Peterson off your case. The man that was injured wasn't really hurt that badly. The doctors have him intubated right now, but he should be able to answer questions soon," he admitted.

"Oh, thank God," I rushed. "I didn't start the fire, but I was so worried about them. The little boy was so scared and all he could think about was how he didn't want his daddy to die. No child should ever have to worry about their parents dying."

"That's true," he agreed gently. "I'd like to ask you about your gift though, if that's alright with you."

"It's really more of a curse," I interjected.

He chuckled at me and I immediately felt more at ease. "I must disagree with you there. That little boy and his father wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you and your gift." He leaned back in his chair and smiled at me.

I blushed. "I've never really thought about it like that. I've never been able to use it to help anyone before. I usually spend all my energy trying to keep everyone's thoughts out." It was so nice to have someone to talk to about this. Someone who didn't think I was unbalanced or lying.

"Is it hard? Keeping the thoughts out?" he asked.

"Oh yes. It takes so much energy to keep it all out. I have to constantly concentrate on my shields so I don't go crazy, but that makes people think that I _am_ crazy because sometimes I can't pay attention to what's being said versus what's being thought. Then I'm constantly having to keep my body from betraying what I'm hearing. People think awful things sometimes but I always have to concentrate on not letting my face betray the fact that they are thinking about killing their boss or having an affair with their secretary…or so many other things. I try to remember that people can't help their thoughts, but I truly wish I didn't have to hear it."

"I can imagine," he said calmly.

We talked for a long time, so long in fact that he asked somebody to go to a coffee shop for me to get me a latte, which was really nice of him. I explained how I figured out how to shield, how different people sounded differently, and my range. I realized as I was talking that I never really figured out some of the capabilities of my disability. Detective Danielson kept trying to get me to call it a gift, but I know the truth of it and I don't think I will ever call it a gift.

"Miss Stackhouse, this has been a fascinating discussion. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Now, let me go see about getting you out of here, shall I?" he asked with a big smile.

"Oh, that would be great, detective. It's been a really long day and I'm sure my Gran will be super worried about me," I said sincerely.

I shook his hand and he left me alone in the room. I waited and waited…and then I waited some more. Finally the door opened and a different man came in. He was dressed sharply, in a black suit.

"Agent Dupree, NSA," he said in a sharp voice as he flashed me his official looking badge.

"Miss Sookie Stackhouse, you are being taken into custody for suspected terroristic acts and you are being considered a national security risk. Under the US Patriot Act you will be held in federal custody pending investigation of these charges." He went on and on but I stopped listening. I was in shock. I thought I was getting out of there. I thought Detective Danielson was being nice. I thought he understood that I was only trying to help. I thought…I thought I could trust him. I felt like a fool.

And that was how I became a prisoner, of the federal government, and a slave to that government's whims.

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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Thanks for reading!


	2. The 'Hospital'

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your proof-reading/editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

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**Chapter 2: The 'Hospital'**

I had always said that my telepathy would make me crazy, but I never truly thought I would end up in a padded room by the time I was 23. That's what my life had become. Two years now, I'd been the government's bitch. I'd started out in a maximum security prison while they tried to figure out what to do with me. Eventually I was moved to the hospital. The government had a wing of the Shreveport VA hospital that was labeled as a top security psychiatric ward. In reality it is a holding cell for the government's freaks. We all have some sort of special ability. They call us security risks, but really, we are pawns in a giant game of chess. We basically work for them, do their dirty work and in turn they don't pay us and they lock us up.

In short, we are slaves!

I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was when I first arrived. I'm a telepath for Christ's sake. Why should I be surprised that there are other things out there? I adapted quickly, and I actually liked being around other 'freaks'. They actually appreciated my ability, and though it was a little surprising to me, I found it was harder to read most of their minds than the general population's. I didn't have to work so hard to keep them out.

I had even developed a relationship with a werewolf. We didn't have much time together, as they only gave us a couple of hours in the general living area, but we made it work. Most of the time we were all confined to our respective rooms. Alcide was in the room next to me and was able to think to me and with his enhanced hearing, he could hear me as well. We spent hours talking. We also spent a lot of hours doing other things whenever we were able to sneak off for a while. I was brought up as a good southern girl, but this good southern girl had needs. Alcide had a hard to read, Were mind, was a very nice looking man and we had a good time together. It's not like we had a choice to have a normal relationship. We were making the best of what we had.

There was a definite separation of 'classes' among us freaks. The two-natured, as they liked to be called, separated themselves from the rest. The two Werewolves were at the top of the food chain and the others' status was based on the type of animal they shifted into. Size really does matter. There were a couple demons, who liked to keep themselves separate from us. They had more gruff personalities, but they seemed nice enough. The rest of us were considered to be freaks among humans and generally were beneath everyone else, status-wise. I got along with everyone and they seemed to like me well enough. I guess I was considered the most tolerable of the humans.

I had become much more jaded as time went on. I wasn't the naive innocent girl that I was before being locked up. I saw the harsh realities that most people don't have to see. I had to deal with people that had committed terrible crimes. I had seen people beaten and tortured, and I had been beaten and injured myself. I was still stubborn and outspoken, but I had learned my place. I used to be optimistic and trusting. Now I was cynical and suspicious.

The hospital was run more like a prison than a hospital. We had armed guards outside the unit and constant surveillance on the unit. The only place that wasn't under video surveillance was the bathrooms. When we left the unit for them to use whatever skills we respectively had, we were handcuffed and chained up. Alcide and the other were-animals were chained in padded silver shackles which didn't directly burn them, but kept them from breaking free.

Most of the time, we were kept sedated, so in that way it was like a hospital. It was the guards that brought us our meds and checked under our tongues to make sure we swallowed. It hadn't happened to me yet, thank god, but a couple of the others had been experimented on. It was all kept very hush-hush and they would not be brought near my room for a while after, because whoever was in charge didn't want me to see in their thoughts what actually happened. They were given drugs that affected the memory, so after a day or two they wouldn't remember what had happened.

My ability itself was one thing that helped me and some of the others survive. It turns out that sex offenders seem to like working on mental wards as they have a whole population of vulnerable people to prey on. Even when the patients report it, they are often not believed. I was able to weed out the few real perverts who desired employment on our floor. Because of my ability they believed me. The only ones we were able to get rid of were the ones actually caught on camera doing something, but at least I was able to tell them when and where to look on the security tapes. There was still some abuse and rough treatment by the guards, but at least we were able to get the worst of the worst out of there.

Alcide and I talked about what we would do when we got out of there. He was sure that the rest of the two-natured community would break us out once they knew he was there. That was the problem though. Nobody knew where we were.

For example, my grandmother hired her attorney for me when I was first arrested. However, he was an old man and not an attorney used to fighting the federal government, especially when they were spouting off about the Patriot Act. He was defeated before he even began. Gran didn't have the money to get better lawyers, so eventually, there was nothing we could do. My 'act of arson' and 'terroristic threats' was so well publicized that no lawyer in their right mind would take my case anyway.

That whole legal fiasco was what they federal government was hiding behind. The Patriot Act allowed them to hold _non-citizens_ for indefinite amounts of time. Holding the rest of us under this Act was not actually within the laws of the Act, as I gleamed from their minds, but they were using it to hide behind. None of us were particularly wealthy and/or influential, so those of us whose families knew where we were, were unable to fight it. Some of the inmates/patients were not even officially here. They had bypassed the entire legal part of it, and were simply holding us as prisoners. We were locked up in a high security mental ward. What could we possibly do about it?

The whole thing was infuriating, but after so long, I barely thought about it anymore. I longed to go outside, to the point I was actually excited to have a job to do because it meant I could leave the hospital.

That was actually what I was doing today. I was even, for the first time, going to be able to leave the hospital wearing a business suit with only an ankle monitor. I was going undercover for the first time in an office in New Orleans, and I was excited to be able to feel like a normal person for even a short while, despite the fact that it was all an illusion. It's not like I would try to escape. They tested out the ankle monitor on me so that I would be 'discouraged' from trying to escape when we actually left the hospital. It took a couple days to be able to walk normally again and another two weeks for the electrical burns to go away, so I definitely wouldn't be trying an escape with that thing on.

"Sookie, here is your suit. You have fifteen minutes," the guard told me. He wasn't anyone important. Just a guard taking care of high security mental patients. He didn't even know why we were here. He was a bit of a pervert and had a lot of violent thoughts. This wasn't all that unusual in our guards but I always did my best to avoid antagonizing him.

I took the suit he gave me. It was a nice black pant suit with a blue silk scoop neck shirt. I dressed quickly and was pleased with how it felt to wear something other than our white hospital shirt and pants. We weren't allowed heels even when we went out, so the guard had left a pair of black flats for me to wear. They were rather ugly, but they were mostly hidden by the long legs of the pants. At least they were the right size and relatively comfortable.

Leaving the hospital was always a bit of a risk. There were times when others left the hospital for jobs or for 'medical' reasons and they did not return. I needed to say goodbye to Alcide before leaving. Once I was ready and was pleased with the reflection in the window (we were not allowed mirrors), I went to find Alcide in the common room.

He was sitting watching a movie with his ex-girlfriend, Debbie, who was a werefox. She was a complete skank, though my Gran would have been appalled at me for saying so.

"Well don't you look nice, Sookie," she said with a sneer.

"At least I am getting out for a while today," I responded. I tried to remember to be nice.

"Sookie, time to go!" the guard yelled from across the room. He looked angry.

"Be careful Sookie," Alcide said. He didn't bother getting up. I just nodded and walked away. Was I reading too much into the whole Debbie thing?

The guard on the outside unlocked the door and my personal guard, whose name tag said Ben, and I walked through. They closed the door behind me and stopped to talk shop for a second. I tried to listen to as many of these conversations as possible, so that we could hear about anything that might help us. Today, it was hard to listen as I saw through the bars that Debbie was straddling my boyfriend's lap, kissing him. I wanted to look away, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene. I felt my heart breaking, but I was determined not to let it bother me on my day outside of these walls.

Ben finally yanked on my arm and led me out of the building. It was a beautiful fall day outside, and I took deep breaths of the warm fresh air. We went to a waiting black sedan, and the driver took off toward New Orleans. Ben made several rude comments, but I just ignored him. It was usually better that way. The driver put up the barrier between his seat and the back of the car, so that he wouldn't have to listen.

It was a long drive, but it was so nice to get out of my prison. I watched the scenery the entire way, enjoying the view. I was disappointed when we finally arrived at our destination, but the whole reason I was out was that I had a job to do. We were met at the door by a government official of some sort, Agent Brower. He was going to be doing the interviews and seemed like a nice guy. He didn't know I was a prisoner. He knew about my telepathy and was impressed with and respected my ability. It was a nice change to be viewed that way. It would be my job to follow him around and read people's minds to know if they were being honest.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived. Ben wouldn't tell me why we were doing interviews in a business so late in the day. I heard from his mind that there were a couple of businessmen that worked in the evenings only, that we were to interview as well.

I was hard pressed to figure out the significance of the interviews I was involved in. Basically they were a bunch of investors for a biopharmaceutical company based in Japan that was working on creating a synthetic blood for transfusions and such. The office building where we were was one of its international headquarters. The government, from what I could pull from Agent Brower's mind, was wondering if there was something fishy going on because of the amount of money being invested.

Because these were business people we were interviewing, everything was very professional. I hated being present when the government was less civilized. Since becoming their human lie detector, I had witnessed people being beaten and tortured and there was nothing I could do about it. I had tried once. I would never do that again. It was weeks before the bruises went away, then they watched me like hawk for a long while after that.

I figured out that the abuse generally didn't last as long if I helped. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. My ethical conscience was not comfortable with the things I did, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I made the best choices I could, but none of those were good choices. I took what little comfort I could from the fact that I knew from their minds most of the people were actually guilty of what they were accused. I tried not to think of it too much or I would start hating myself for my part in the whole awful thing.

The interviews of the employees of the pharmaceutical company and the investors we talked to went well. I didn't find much out of place. The last two people that we interviewed were very unusual, and I was surprised when they avoided shaking our hands. I couldn't read anything from their minds. It was as if there was a void where their minds should have been. It was something I had never experienced before and it was actually very relaxing. I knew that they were something 'other'. They glowed just a little bit, and it was just obvious to me that they weren't normal. From what I got from Agent Brower's mind, he didn't notice a thing, and I wasn't about to announce it. I didn't want them to end up locked up for the rest of their lives like I was, just because they were different. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Finally we were finished. The first man left the room and the other was putting files away. Agent Brower turned to me when the interview was over, I just nodded to let him know everything was fine.

I hated lying, but in this case I had to. I wasn't about to tell him that I couldn't read a single thing from their minds. I'd gotten pretty good at covering up my real reactions to things, having to hide my ability from people for so long. My heart raced because I knew how important it was for me to hide that they were different, but I was able to cover up my expression. Our last interviewee, Mr. William Compton, looked at me a little funny while he was finishing his paperwork, but didn't say anything.

Agent Brower had to go over some paperwork, so we were taken to an empty conference room. I was able to get some chips and a Dr. Pepper from the vending machine while he did his paperwork. It was such a treat, and I was especially excited that I was able to have soda, since it had been two years since I'd had any. Pretty sad, huh? I ate my snack in silence and soon he was finished with the paperwork. I watched silently as he got out a little wand and started searching the room for listening devices. After about ten minutes he had finished and declared the room bug free.

"Tell me, Sookie, was there anything I need to know from their thoughts?"

"No. The most scandalous things I heard were a case of closet alcoholism, a man cheating on his wife with his secretary – pretty cliché, right? – and there was a guy that was having a hard time thinking about anything other than his drag queen show that starts in…" I looked over at the clock, "about an hour."

Agent Brower laughed. "So nothing important business related?"

"No. I didn't hear anything that would lead me to believe that there is something unethical going on in this company. Even in their minds they are very professional. There were a couple of people thinking about how much money they'll make from the medical industry when the synthetic blood comes out, but, it's true if you think about it. They are always talking about shortages of blood donors and not being able to give blood transfusions when there isn't enough blood to go around. This will save lives. I think it's an awesome idea," I said passionately. My aunt Linda had been a nurse before she died and she had talked a lot about blood shortages. Being a smaller town, our hospital would occasionally run out of blood and she'd once had a patient die because of it. I still remember how upset she had been.

"That is true. It's going to be a big money maker for them. Good enough, Sookie. It has been a pleasure working with you," Agent Brower said.

"Likewise. This is the first time I've been allowed to wear normal clothes and work without the handcuffs. Can't complain about that," I said lightly. I knew he had no idea that I was a prisoner. He seemed to like me and could be an ally. I didn't want to be a prisoner, as I had done nothing wrong. It couldn't hurt to have him on my side.

"You are a prisoner?" he asked, astounded.

"Oh yes. I am considered a national security risk," I said.

"What was your crime?" he asked.

"I helped save a man and his son from an apartment fire that was caused by a leaky gas oven. They discovered my quirk after I'd been interrogated for several hours. See, I was having a hard time keeping the thoughts out and I started answering thoughts rather than their words," I explained, downcast. If only I'd been able to shield myself better. If only I hadn't been so emotionally exhausted by the events with my boss and his family that day.

"No sense dwelling on it now," I said, snapping myself out of my depressed mood. "What's done is done."

"Do you have a lawyer?" Agent Brower asked.

"My Gran's lawyer wasn't up to fighting the federal government on something like this. It's not like I was ever even allowed to talk to him to even tell him what was really going on. They have me under the Patriot Act, even though the law doesn't actually make this legal. That's just what they are hiding behind. Anyway, he couldn't fight it, and Gran doesn't have a lot of money. I sent them a letter, while I was still able to, to tell them to let it go. I won't let her spend all her money on a lawyer she can't afford."

"That isn't right. I will see what I can do for you, legally," Agent Brower said and I could see from his thoughts that he was furious.

"That would be very kind of you, sir, but I don't think there is anything you can do for me. There are a bunch of us freaks. We are now 'high security mental patients'. Me? I'm a convicted arsonist, a national security risk, and I have been charged with terroristic threats. Do you think anyone wants to fight to get a terrorist released? Don't risk your livelihood for me," I explained. I appreciated the gesture. I wanted nothing more than to go home, but I knew from my experiences so far that he wouldn't get far. There was really nothing he could do, and that fact made me feel even more defeated. Now I felt bad for even bringing it up. I shouldn't have been so selfish.

"I will do what I can," he said.

"Please, just be careful," I said.

"It's time to go," Agent Brower said.

Ben met us at the car and seemed really irritated. Agent Brower left quickly leaving the two of us alone, other than the driver who was already in the car with the barrier up. He wasn't going to be much help. Ben had been in a fight with his wife over the phone after his girlfriend called the house. He was angry and looking for a fight.

"Get in the car!" he snapped at me.

"Would it kill you to be polite about it?" I asked, irritated.

"Get in the fucking car, you stupid bitch!"

"I'm going! You don't have to yell at me just because your wife caught you cheating. Try some manners sometime," I said. Sometimes I really should think before I speak. I sometimes have a little bit of a temper.

He slapped me hard across the face. He hit me so hard it stunned me for a couple seconds.

Suddenly and silently we were approached by a very tall man in a nice black suit. He had to have been six and a half feet tall and had long blond hair pulled back. He was one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen. Just looking at him made me blush.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked, politely.

"Mind your own business. She is a prisoner of the United States Federal government and an insolent little girl. This is none of your concern," Ben said, puffing his chest out. Though Ben was not a small man, he paled in comparison to the gorgeous stranger beside him.

"She does not seem to be resisting in any way. I would suggest that you treat the woman with respect," he said. He made the benign words sound rather threatening.

"_I_ suggest _you_ step back. This is federal business and I would rather not have to arrest you for interfering. I really don't need that paperwork today," Ben shot back as he grabbed my wrist roughly.

The stranger gazed intently into Ben's eyes and spoke very slowly and clearly. "You will treat the woman with respect and you will not strike her or manhandle her again." He had a slight accent which made me rather weak in the knees.

Ben, surprisingly, simply nodded silently, and released my wrist. He stepped aside and I went to get into the car. I looked back at the stranger before I got in.

"Thank you," I said with a shy smile.

"Anytime," he said. With a nod of his head, he walked away. I got into the car and Ben got in behind me. He didn't say anything and I looked into his mind. His thoughts were rather…blank. As if there was a hole in his thoughts. Weird.

I watched the tall stranger talking to a girl that looked perhaps sixteen years old. She was dressed very sharply, though the style was more like an older woman would wear. They both glowed just slightly, like the others I'd met earlier, and they both watched me as the car drove away. Even though the windows were tinted, they appeared to be able to see me inside. They both nodded to me and then the car turned onto another street.

This day had given me a lot to think about, and that handsome stranger would probably give me some good dreams as well.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	3. Jailbreak

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your proof-reading/editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Jailbreak**

A week after my trip to New Orleans, I was given the newspaper by one of the guards. We were not allowed newspapers, or allowed to watch the TV news, so I knew something was up. I looked through it and quickly found an article about Agent Brower, the agent I had told about my illegal incarceration. He had been fired for mishandling an investigation. I felt awful. I had no doubt in my mind that it was my fault. I was a horrible person for trying to make my problems his. It was selfish of me. I knew it was a bad idea but I did it anyway. I would not make that mistake again.

It was a month later that I saw the handsome blond stranger again. I had gotten into a shouting match with Alcide. He was trying to convince me that he didn't want Debbie anymore, he wanted me. I was trying to convince him that he was a lying cheating dog, and that I wouldn't ever take him back. I looked out the window at the car that was going to take me and my guards to an interrogation/torture this evening, when I saw him. He was watching me, even though I was on the fifth floor. He was looking right at me, and nodded his head when he saw that I had noticed him.

When my guards and I left several minutes later, it took everything I had to not make it obvious that I knew he was there. Luckily my guards didn't really know anything. The stranger was looking me up and down, and I was embarrassed that I was in my typical condition, not a nice business suit like the last time we saw each other.

I was wearing my white hospital clothes and I was handcuffed and shackled. Since the little 'episode' with Agent Brower, I was now always assigned the meanest guards, so they were rather rough in handling me. I was embarrassed for my stranger to see me like that, but that was my life. I was a prisoner and I resided in a mental hospital. Doesn't do much for the image.

He watched me from across the parking lot. Nobody but me noticed he was there. When our car took off, he got into his car as well. It was a black Ford sedan. It looked to be at least ten years old, and it was rather rusty.

When we arrived at the prison where the interrogation was going to be done, I saw him parking his car across the parking lot. He was keeping his distance and he looked like he was minding his own business, not paying attention to us, but I saw the side glances. He was aware of everything going on around me. I had no idea why. I wanted to discourage him, but I didn't want to bring attention to him either.

My guards and I went in and I listened to the interrogation. The man was a suicide bomber. The first try, the bomb's trigger malfunctioned. He was set to do it again in two weeks. We got the names of the other terrorists he was working with. This was one of the few times that I was happy to give my services. He was planning on bombing a school. He was planning on killing children. If only I could feel the satisfaction of putting away a bad man at the end of every day. My own incarceration would feel less hopeless.

We left the prison a couple of hours later. The tall blond stranger was there waiting for us, along with William Compton and Andre Leclerq who Agent Brower and I had interviewed that night the month before. They were standing next to their car, talking and laughing, not paying the least bit of attention to us, or so it would appear. I, on the other hand, could sense that they were paying attention to our every move. I had a really bad feeling about this. They were in over their heads and I couldn't even warn them without exposing them in the first place.

I tried subtly shaking my head, but the blond stranger just winked at me. I looked up at my two guards and wished that they were not armed. Nothing good could come from this situation.

I looked back at the three men and tried again to subtly shake my head no, but again, my warning was ignored.

Suddenly all three men were right in front of me and my guards. They moved so fast I barely saw them. In seconds, they had disarmed my guards, including their ankle holsters. William and Andre held my guards still while they looked deep into their eyes. They spoke in that hypnotic voice that my blond stranger had used, and told my guards that they had let me free. The guards simply nodded in agreement, got into their car and drove away, not even blinking an eye at the fact that they no longer had their weapons. Minutes later I was in their car moving away from the prison with my rescuers.

"Well that was just too easy," I commented.

"True. I was really itching for a good fight," my blond stranger said.

"Maybe you'll get a good fight in when we go back for the others," I said. They all laughed at me.

"You are the only one that we are interested in, telepath," Andre said. He looked at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. It was calculating and greedy. Well, creepy too, but that's just how he looked most of the time from what I'd seen.

"Please! There are others. I can't just leave them there!" I cried.

"Are there other telepaths?" Andre asked.

"Well, no, but there is an empath, a psychic and bunch of shapeshifters," I explained.

"Shapeshifters?" he scoffed.

"But they are my friends! It's not right for them to hold us just because we're different," I exclaimed.

"They are of no interest to us."

"Fine. When you let me go I will work to get them out," I said. I knew that Alcide's father was a prominent businessman. Alcide was one of those that had not been officially arrested or anything, so that would be a good starting point for getting him and the others out.

"My dear, we aren't planning on letting you go. We could use the skills of a telepath. You will come to work for us."

"No! You can't just break me out of prison and then take me as a prisoner for yourself. It's not right!" I yelled. As though people that would keep me prisoner care much if it's right or not.

"You will come to work for us, and you will be glad to be there," Andre said. I could feel tweaks of power trying to influence my mind.

"Stop that! I will not work for you, and I sure as hell will not be glad to be there if you force me."

My stranger and Andre looked at each other, before William finally spoke up from the driver's seat. "She can't be glamored?"

"What's glamor?" I asked.

"It's like hypnotizing," he explained.

"Well it doesn't work on me, and you should be ashamed for trying. You're going to hold me against my will and try to make me happy about it? Not likely," I scoffed and my blond stranger laughed. I felt the car slow down and I realized that we'd pulled into a dark, almost empty parking lot next to a large black SUV.

"We are changing cars. If you scream or if you run, I will hurt you," Andre said matter-of-factly.

"Alrighty," I responded. The idea of hurting me didn't seem to bother him in the least.

We were getting out of the car when a police car, with its lights flashing, pulled up to us quickly and swung around blocking our vehicle from leaving. There were two armed police officers that jumped out of the car and pulled their guns on us.

"Get your hands up!" they yelled.

"They were watching the parking lot at the prison," I told them after looking into the policemen's minds. "They're a little jumpy," I added.

Everyone but my blond stranger made a show of putting their hands up. I saw what was going to happen just seconds before it did. "Watch out!" I yelled and I knocked him out of the way as I heard the shot ring out. Suddenly there was chaos around me. Then just as sudden as all the action started, it was all over.

"You pushed me out of the way," my stranger said. We were both on the ground and he was looking at me in a way that was making me self conscious.

"Yeah," I responded and looked away. I looked around and the policemen were dead and my kidnappers were getting back in the car. I looked up and saw my stranger offering me his hand. I accepted and he pulled me to my feet. That's when I saw he was bleeding. I hadn't been quick enough.

"Oh my God! You were shot!" I yelled. I pulled his torn shirt away from the wound so I could take a look at it. As I watched, the bullet was pushed out of the wound and his flesh healed before my eyes.

"That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" I exclaimed and all three of them started laughing at me.

"It would have been worse if you had not pushed me out of the way," the stranger said and he looked very put out by that idea. "Why did you do that?"

"I couldn't just let you get shot," I explained. Okay, perhaps it was kind of stupid. They were kidnapping me, but if the policemen had succeeded in killing them I would have been back as a prisoner. There was really no winning.

"So what are you guys anyway?" I asked once we settled into the new car.

"Vampires," my blond stranger said.

"Really?" I asked. "Huh. Cool."

They all looked at each other as if I was out of my mind. What the hell did they expect? Should I be shrieking in terror? I'm not the type to do that.

"I like her," the stranger said to the others.

"Do you like me enough to let me go?" I asked.

"I am not in the position to let you go," he stated.

"Can't hurt to try," I said, dejectedly.

"Will you guys at least let me call my Gran and brother to tell them I'm okay? It's been two years since I've seen them or talked to them." I knew they were worried about me.

"If you cooperate and prove your usefulness, we will allow a phone call," Andre said.

"Great. That's just great," I said sarcastically.

"Will I at least get to wear clothes a little less mental-hospitalish?" I asked, looking down at my clothes.

"Of course! We cannot allow the Queen's telepath to look like a homeless person," Andre said as though I had offended his sensibilities.

"The queen? " I asked confused.

"Yes. The vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie Anne Leclerq," Andre said.

I tried. I honestly tried, but I couldn't stop the laugh. It was a full on belly laugh. I hadn't laughed like that in a very long time. "The queen of Louisiana? Seriously?" I choked out.

"Yes. It is not funny, you insolent little girl. You will show my Queen her proper respect," Andre snarled and then he backhanded me across the face.

I'd had my share of beatings over the last couple years, and I wasn't about to let Andre get the best of me.

"You have to give respect to get respect," I said coldly, my laughing mood ruined and my face stinging.

"You are an insignificant human girl. You are not worthy of respect," he spat.

"Is it not better to rule by being fair and respectful than by fear? Fear does not lead to loyalty," I said wisely. I'd read something like that once and it was something I firmly believed.

"Yes, but fear is a powerful motivator," Andre said.

I knew I wasn't going to win the debate so I ignored him and the vehicle lapsed into silence for a while. I stared out the window into the dark. Andre and my stranger, well, they stared at me. It was a little awkward, but again, nothing I wasn't used to. It was sad that this is what my life had come down to. I sighed in resignation.

"You seem to be taking your kidnapping fairly well. Should you not be hysterical or something?" he asked. I laughed at him.

"I've been a prisoner for the past two years. It's not like you're very original in your kidnapping of me, and I have never been the kind of woman to scream in terror. You're really not that scary," I said.

His fangs descended when I said that and I leaned closer.

"That's really cool!" I said. "Do your fangs come down on command?" I asked.

He laughed loudly at me. "No fear."

"Why have fear? You could kill me at any moment and nobody but the three of you would know. There is nothing I can do to stop you. So if there is nothing I can do to stop you, why sit here scared, just waiting to be killed? It's not very productive," I said. They didn't have a response for that.

"What is your name by the way? I know the others from my interviews," I asked my stranger.

"Eric Northman," he said with a sexy smile.

"Nice to meet you, Eric, despite the circumstances," I said.

"The pleasure is all mine…or it could be your pleasure if you like," Eric suggested.

I laughed at him, but couldn't help the dirty thoughts of what he could do to me. _Not the time_, I reminded myself.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"New Orleans," Eric responded.

During the long drive to New Orleans, Eric gave a brief overview of the truth and myths of vampires, and a quick course on vampire etiquette. It was very interesting. I told him how my telepathy works, though they'd listened in on enough of my conversations while they had me under surveillance that they already knew most of what I'd told them. They were very happy that I couldn't hear their thoughts, and I had to admit that I was happy about that too.

I still couldn't believe that I had been rescued only to become a prisoner again. This time a prisoner to the dead, or rather, undead. I was oddly calm about the whole thing. I was upset sure, but I was pretty sure that I should be _really_ upset and I just wasn't.

I was able to get a bit of sleep on the drive as well. Unlike them, I was not used to staying up all night. It seemed as though I would have to get used to it though. I woke up as we headed into the city. I hadn't been to New Orleans since I was a child. It had changed a lot.

We arrived in front of one of the historical mansions in the French Quarter. It had a very regal atmosphere. We brought the vehicle around to a valet, and were screened by guards before being allowed to enter. I was amazed by the whole place. Andre quickly guided us to the Queen's office.

Eric and William bowed low and Andre simply nodded before standing beside her. I recognized her as the teenage girl I'd seen with Eric the month before. It was strange to consider that she was the Queen when she was only about sixteen years old physically. In the car, Eric told me that she was over a thousand years old, which was amazing to think about. She was very beautiful. She had reddish brown hair and big brown eyes. She would have looked like the epitome of a nice teenage girl, if not for her cold, calculating eyes.

I could see that she and Andre were very close. Eric had explained that Andre was her 'child' and her second in command. I was not happy to see how close they were. I found him very creepy and I didn't want him having any authority over me. It was a good thing that I was used to not getting what I wanted in life.

"So this is my new telepath," she said as she looked me up and down. I didn't say anything, though I didn't think she was expecting me to.

"Did everything go well?" she asked Eric.

"Yes, your majesty. We had a slight problem when we changed cars but we took care of it," he said.

"Ma'am, I understand that you only rescued me because you need a telepath, but please, is there anything you can do about the others? They are all being held illegally. I can't just leave them behind," I explained.

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"It may not matter to you, but it does matter to me. I would consider it a personal favor," I said.

"And why on earth would I need a personal favor from you? You are my asset now and you will do as I say. I have no need for your favors," she said as if I were stupid.

"Please," I pleaded again. "I can't just leave them there."

"No," she stated.

"Will I at least be able to make a phone call to my grandmother and brother?" I asked.

She regarded me quietly for a moment or two and finally said, "Maybe tomorrow." She looked away from me and I knew the conversation was over. At least I'd be able to call Gran and Jason tomorrow.

"Bill, could you please see the telepath to her room and get her situated for the night. Telepath, you will begin your training tomorrow evening at sundown. You will learn your place quickly. That is all," she said and we were dismissed.

"Eric, there is only an hour before sunrise. I have had a room arranged for you to spend the day. You may return to your area at first dark. I have several meals available for your choosing," she said to Eric as we left the room. I wasn't able to catch his response before we were out of hearing range. A meal? Did that mean what I thought it did? First of all, eww. I found that I didn't like the thought of him feeding from people. He was a vampire though and that's what they do. I still didn't like it. Was I jealous? No, I had no reason to be jealous. Another thing I'd have to think about later.

Bill led me to the basement of the compound and to a row of jail-like rooms. It was like my room at the hospital, but without the padded walls and it was a little dingier. Lovely change in scenery, wouldn't you agree?

Bill basically brought me to the room, shoved me inside, and then locked the door behind me. I took a look around once he left. There was a small dresser filled with clothes in my size. The tiny closet held several nice dresses, also in my size. Evidently they'd planned well for my kidnapping. They were nice clothes. I had to give them that. It could have been worse, I kept trying to tell myself.

There was a tiny little dingy bathroom. It had a nasty looking toilet and a shower barely big enough for a person to fit in. Then there was the pathetic twin bed to sleep on, which the room was barely big enough to hold. The hospital did not have the best bed, but this one looked like it'd seen its best days twenty years ago. At least it looked relatively clean.

I'd changed one prison for another, though I was vaguely pleased that this one had no cameras watching. As I sat in my dingy room, the reality of it really hit me. I was a prisoner again. My previous captors had the illusion of laws that they had to follow, though they didn't actually follow those laws. My new captors were vampires. Did they even _have_ any kind of laws? Seeing as how vampires didn't even exist to the general public, I doubted they would feel the need to follow human laws. Would they have to drink my blood? I had no idea why, but that thought hadn't even occurred to me before. When Eric was talking, he gave me the impression that drinking blood was closely related to sex, though at the time I thought he was just trying to embarrass me…which he did. Would they expect that of me as well? The thought made my blood run cold. But maybe cold blood would be less appetizing to them?

I burst out laughing at myself. Yes, I knew it was a bad joke, but if I wasn't laughing I knew I would be crying, and I didn't want to spend my first night in my new life crying.

I lay down on my bed, and just as I was about to fall asleep, there was a knock on my door. I sat up quickly trying to get my wits about me.

"You guys are the ones with the keys," I called out.

I heard Eric's booming laugh on the other side of the door, and I was able to relax a little. It was true I didn't know him well, but I still felt like I could trust him. Well, trust him as much as I could trust a vampire that kept trying to get into my pants.

I heard the key in the lock and then the door swung open. He was so tall it was as if he completely filled the room. Actually, the room was so small, he just about did.

"Nice accommodations don't you think?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Yes. Please thank the queen for her generosity," I said rolling my eyes.

"Would you like a seat?" I asked trying to be polite without crying at my situation.

Eric's eyes looked down at me with pity. "I will only keep you a minute. Sunrise is in ten minutes. I just wanted you to know that I am willing to do you that favor, but I will expect payment in kind. You will owe me a favor. I respect that you do not want to leave your friends behind. I will contact their families for you. That is all that I am willing to do," he said. It was not much, but it was more than I had any right to expect given the situation.

"Thank you," I agreed. I recited the names, and the family names, and locations that I knew. I also listed the ones that were not on the record as being there at all, since they would most likely be the ones with the best case to expose the government's dirty little secret.

"The queen has granted me several days of your service in return for my assistance in acquiring you. During that time I will cash in your favor," he said. He even managed to say it without a leer, which was rather unusual for him from what I had seen so far.

"Okay," I agreed.

"I must go now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Stackhouse," Eric said, kissing my hand.

"Likewise, and it's Sookie," I responded.

"Until next time, Sookie," he said with a nod.

The door locked behind him, and I was left alone once again. I felt even more alone than before.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Training

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Training**

I was pleased to find that I slept well my first night as a prisoner to the vampires. My room was dark when I woke and I had no idea what time it was, since I had no clock or window.

I took a quick shower, though I found that there was no soap or shampoo. The bath towel they gave me was undersized, so definitely no luxury there. I tried to take more than normal pleasure at the nice clothes they provided for me. I found a nice wrap blouse in a sixties style pattern that looked fun and a pair of black pants that fit me just right. I can't even put into words how nice it was that I was able to wear normal clothes again. It was heavenly and I felt like a real human being again. Ironic, isn't it?

Since I had no idea what time it was, no idea when someone would be coming to get me and nothing to do, I ended up taking a nap. Really exciting but that was my life. I woke up to my door being slammed open. I jumped out of the bed ready for an attack.

"The queen has asked me to give you some training as to what is expected of you," Bill said looking me up and down. He obviously thought he was above this task, but at the same time he looked like he was enjoying the view.

"Okay. There are a couple of things that I could really use in the room here. Can I talk to you about that?" I asked trying to be polite.

"What do you need?" he asked. From his tone I could tell that it was evidently a great burden for him.

"If I could get some paper, maybe I could make a list," I suggested.

"We can get some later tonight. Let's go over some rules first," Bill said dismissively.

"You are to show respect to your superiors at all times, that is, all vampires. When acknowledging the Queen or her second, Andre, you shall give a deep nod. If you are being reprimanded by them, you shall kneel in front of them. Other vampires, you are only required to respectfully nod.

"Your primary responsibility is to the Queen or Andre. Their instructions to you are your primary responsibility. Your routine responsibilities are to listen to the humans with which we have business or social dealings. You are not to reveal what we are, and you are not to reveal that you are an asset of the Queen. When dealing with humans, you are to refer to the Queen as Ms. Leclerq.

"You will be required to allow vampires to feed from you. The Queen will be in charge of that aspect of your life here. You will not be required to provide sexual services unless that is something that you desire," he explained. At that point he leered at me and made me rather uncomfortable. His fangs even descended a little.

"No thank you," I said curtly. I was trying my hardest to be polite, but from the glare he gave me I realized I'd missed the mark.

"You will speak only when spoken to. You will _only_ speak openly in front of the Queen, Andre, myself or anyone the Queen tells you specifically is approved. Do you understand?" he asked. I nodded.

"I've been instructed to give you a basic tour of the grounds. Then you will start interviews of some humans." Bill left the room, and I realized belatedly that I was supposed to be following. I had to run to catch up.

"Bill, I also haven't had anything to eat," I said. I cringed as I brought up the subject, but it had been over twenty-four hours since I'd had anything to eat.

He huffed as if I was being extremely needy. I kept quiet after that. I was given a tour of part of the compound. It was a very big place, but I was only given a tour of the areas in which I would be allowed. I would never be allowed to move around without a chaperone, according to Bill, so I probably didn't need the tour anyway, but it was always a good idea to know my way around.

He brought me to a small, dingy kitchen where a couple of humans were hanging out. They had horrible scarring on their necks from being fed on, and I realized with a start that was probably my fate as well. I looked into their minds and found a lot of holes in their memories like the others I'd tried reading after they had been glamored. At least I was unable to be glamored.

Other than having minds like Swiss cheese, they seemed to like being the vampires' pets and wanted to be bitten. Evidently Eric was not kidding when he said that feeding and fucking went hand in hand.

It made me nervous to know that I would be required to give my blood. Bill had said I wouldn't be forced to have sex with them, but still… I didn't like this whole situation. I was starting to regret the change in captors. At least the government didn't drink my blood.

"You may eat. I will be back in twenty minutes. If you try to wander on your own now, or at any time in the future, you will be punished," he said. He looked entirely too pleased about that.

"Bill, I was wondering when I'll be allowed to call my Gran," I said before he had the chance to leave the room.

This was obviously a big annoyance to him. "When the Queen says you can," was his only response.

With that he left, and I was left to my own devices. The other humans pointedly turned their backs on me. I was not welcome because they thought I might be a threat to their positions. The only position they seemed to have in this place was on their back with their legs spread, so they would have no competition from me. Regardless, I ignored them and went about my search for food.

I found the fixings for a turkey sandwich, so I had that and a small bag of chips for my dinner. I was trying to eat politely, but it was hard since I was so hungry. It was an amazing sandwich and much fresher food than I was used to at the hospital. You try eating hospital food for two years, and then make yourself a fresh turkey sandwich with fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and then try to tell me it isn't the best thing you've ever eaten. It was heaven.

They didn't have a lot of food in that kitchen, so that was something about which I was going to ask. I knew they wouldn't like it, but I needed to eat if they were going to be taking my blood regularly. I would need to eat regularly and healthy.

Exactly twenty minutes later, Bill reappeared. He took me to a big room with twenty men and women that were there for 'social' reasons. I was supposed to read them to see if there was any cause for concern. There was a table and chair set up for me, and there were also several couches for everyone to relax on. It was a chaotic environment and I was almost nauseous with the thoughts of these people. The thoughts themselves were vile and there were so many of them. The only thing that lightened my mood was the fact that they called themselves 'fangbangers'. Seriously?

"Bill, I don't know what they've been told about me but their thoughts are all rather hostile. Could I just please see one person at a time?" I asked.

"No," he snapped.

"Look, Bill, I'm not trying to be difficult here. Their thoughts are overwhelming my brain right now. I'm having trouble blocking them all out. It will be more efficient if I only have to read one person at a time. I'll be less likely to miss something too," I explained.

"Just do it," he said and pushed me down into the chair.

"You," he said loudly to the closest girl and pointed to the chair opposite me. She was a fake blond with enough makeup on her face for the entire room of people. She was barely covered with her little black whore ensemble. She looked pissed at me, but was practically humping Bill's leg at the same time. I try to be nice to people, but these 'fangbangers' weren't exactly making the best first impression. Seriously, at least have a tiny bit of self-respect.

She 'sat down' across from me as Bill practically forced her into the chair. He looked as disgusted with her as I was, though she didn't seem to catch onto that fact.

"Okay, do it," he said to me.

"What do you want me to ask?" I inquired. If only they had listened to me when I explained how my telepathy worked. We would both be a lot less aggravated at the end of the night.

"Figure out if they are untrustworthy," he said as though I was stupid. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with him. I turned back to the blond.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"What's it to you?" she responded. Bill grabbed her face roughly and made her look at him.

"You will answer her questions," he said and we could all hear the threat in his cold voice. She shivered just a little, and turned back to me when he let go of her.

"I'm Stacy," she said dejectedly.

"I'm Sookie," I said. Bill looked irritated. What the hell was his problem?

"What do you do around here?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and several of the others snickered. "I feed and fuck the vampires," she explained as if I was dim. Maybe I was.

"Nice," I said sarcastically. "Do you live here?" I asked.

"Yes, we all do," she said. She seemed overly annoyed with me, but at least she was starting to relax and so was I.

"What are your accommodations like?" I asked. I could see what it looked like in her mind. It was a decent little apartment she shared with several others.

"It's nice. We have an apartment and we each have our own room. We have movies and video games for when the vampires are busy. There's always somebody around," she said. I couldn't believe that I was actually feeling jealous of her.

"Do the others treat you well around here?" I inquired.

"Oh yeah. My roommates are great. I mean, we get in fights and shit, but everyone's pretty cool. Sometimes there's some jealousy, but we get along for the most part," she said and I could see from her thoughts that she really thought that.

"I'm new to this whole thing so can I ask you a personal question?" I asked, feeling stupid.

"Sure," she said, curious to what I'd want to know.

"Do you guys really call yourselves 'fangbangers'?" I asked. They all laughed at me. Even Bill cracked a smile.

"Yeah, that's what we call ourselves. It's an honor to be a fangbanger around here. Most people out there don't even know that vampires really exist. We have so much fun here and the sex is amazing," she said with a laugh, and the others joined in. I was bombarded with images I wished I could burn from my mind.

"Do the vampires treat you well?" I asked.

"Sure. There are some that are a bit rough, but me and a lot of the others like our sex rough," she laughed. Again, I didn't want to see all those visuals.

"What do you do for money?" I asked. Hopefully that would lead the conversation in the right direction.

"We don't really need money. They provide everything we need here," she said. "They give us a little spending money if we go out, but we spend most of our time here."

I could see from her mind that she was happy not having money of her own. She liked being taken care of.

"Do you have any complaints or anything that you wish was different?" I asked.

"No, I like it here, like I told you before," she said. To each their own, I guess.

I talked to each person and after the first couple of people, the others stopped listening in. Everyone pretty much said the same thing. They were also all hoping that eventually they would be found worthy enough to be turned. They had also been glamored so that they couldn't tell the vampires' secret to people that didn't live here with them. It was an efficient way for the vampires to keep their food in-house, and not have to worry about their secret getting out. I was also pleased to see that Bill started looking at me and treating me with more respect as the night went on.

"The Queen would like to see you now," Bill said when the last person left the room with a very scary looking vampire. I followed him up to the Queen's quarters. Bill bowed low and I gave a deep nod like I'd been instructed. I felt really silly.

"How is the telepath working?" she asked Bill.

"She has finished interviewing the fangbangers. She did well," he said and then he turned to me. "Is there anything that we should be aware of that you got from their thoughts?" he asked me.

"No. They are all very loyal, they enjoy being here, are happy with how they are treated. There wasn't anything that I heard that you need to worry about," I said.

"Good. You are already proving yourself useful," she said. "Bill explained that you will be donating blood?" she asked.

"Yes. I have some concerns about that," I said hesitantly. This was just weird to have to talk about.

"For now, Andre and I will be the only ones to feed from you. You will not be required to have sex with us, unless you are willing. What other questions do you have?" she asked impatiently.

"Do you have to take blood every day?" I really didn't like this whole thing.

"We will feed from you every other day. You will be given vitamins to help you replenish your blood," she explained.

"Do you have to feed from my neck?" I asked. I thought back to the scars on the fangbangers' necks. I didn't want to look like that.

She laughed at me. "We can feed from your wrist if you would be more comfortable," she said. I just nodded.

"There are some things that I need, like soap and shampoo," I said. I just wanted to change the subject.

"Make a list, and I will make sure that someone gets you what you need," she said dismissively.

She turned to Andre. "Would you like the honors tonight?" she asked. "She smells very sweet."

"Do you think she has any idea that she has fairy in her blood?" he asked.

"I'm standing right here," I muttered.

Next thing I knew, Andre was holding me up against the wall by my throat. "You will show respect. Is that understood?" he threatened.

"Yes," I choked out. He let me go, and I crumpled to the ground. To say he was strong was a severe understatement.

"Are you aware that you have a fairy somewhere in your family?" the Queen asked as though that confrontation had not happened.

I shook my head. "No." I didn't even know that fairies existed.

"Their blood is intoxicating to us. You are probably no more than an eighth fairy so you smell particularly good, but you won't have to worry about us losing control," Andre explained. I just nodded.

He then grabbed my arm and ran his nose along my wrist, breathing in deeply. "Mmm," he moaned. Then he sank his fangs into my flesh, and I gasped with the pain of it. It could have been worse, but it definitely wouldn't be something I'd be looking forward to. Maybe the fangbangers were glamored to think it didn't hurt? He took several deep pulls, and moaned as he drank my blood. When he was finished, he licked up every last drop of blood, licking a little longer than necessary, but he finally let go of my arm. It was creepy and I couldn't help but feel a little violated.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" the Queen asked.

"Ma'am, I would still like to make that phone call to my grandmother, can I please make a call right after dark tonight?" I asked hopefully.

"Not tonight but perhaps tomorrow. You are dismissed. I will send for you at first dark."

We were dismissed. I followed Bill back to my room, and he even remembered to get me a pen and paper on the way.

"Bill, can I ask you a question?" I finally asked awkwardly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Why was he licking my arm after he drank from me?" I asked quietly. I felt like an idiot.

Bill didn't seem to be offended by my question. "Our saliva releases an anticoagulant when we first bite. It helps to keep the blood flowing. When we are finished, our saliva starts producing a chemical that stops the blood from flowing, and helps heal the wound," he explained.

"It was a little creepy," I said quietly. I was ready for the night to be over.

Bill laughed. I liked the sound of his laugh. We'd made a lot of progress through the night. I took the pen and paper and made a quick list of things I needed, and Bill took it from me. He promised that someone would pick those things up for me when they were out.

"Goodnight, Bill," I said as he closed the door.

"Goodnight, Sookie," he said and then he locked the door behind him.

It took me a long time to fall asleep that night.

* * *

Hope you all liked Sookie's first night. Also, I am looking for someone that makes banners. I tried making my own for this story, but it turns out that I am really, really, really bad at it, so if anyone is interested, let me know.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Punishment

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

**Please note:** There is graphic violence in this chapter. I apologize if I offend.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Punishment**

My second day was about the same as my first. When I woke, I was pleased to find that sometime during the day, while I slept, the things I had requested were brought into my room. I was able to wash my hair with my favorite shampoo and I had soap. I got a big stack of books to keep me occupied when I wasn't working. I had asked for some food that I could keep in my room, so I even had some Pop Tarts and some snack foods.

Someone had left me a note that I would be interviewing some business associates, so I dressed nicely in a nice charcoal pant suit. It looked very nice and it felt good to be dressed nicely. I hadn't asked for any, but whoever it was that brought me supplies, also brought some makeup for me. When I was done getting ready, I looked perfectly professional.

Bill was my guard for the night. He basically did the interviews, and I spoke up every now and then when I wanted their thoughts directed to a certain subject. It took us a little while to get a system down with which we were both comfortable, but it worked reasonably well. Bill and I were getting along better in general, so it was more pleasant to be around him. I think he found me more worthy of his time or at least a little less of a _waste_ of time, so… well, he spent less time looking irritated. Plus, I was pretty sure that he was trying to get into my pants, so he was flirting with me between the irritating looks. He really needed to work on his approach.

All in all it was a good night. Nobody fed from me either, which was a definite plus. I wasn't sure that I would ever get used to someone drinking my blood. I just couldn't understand the fangbangers. How could someone want that?

I shook off my questions and was pleased that it had been a relatively stress-free night. I took a long hot shower, then went to bed. I was there against my will, but as I thought about it, it could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse. If only I had the gift of foresight as well. I would have known that the worst was yet to come.

It was the following night, my third night, that I received quite a shock. I was listening to a fangbanger that passed us in the hallway and she was thinking about a girl a couple years older than me that I recognized. She looked completely different from the last time I'd seen her. She had multiple marks on her neck that revealed she was a fangbanger. She had dyed her hair black, though the roots had grown out and were a light brown. She wore lots of heavy makeup, with especially dark eyes. The thing that struck me the most was the happy and…peaceful look she had on her face. I'd never seen her that way. She had always been so angry or depressed. It lightened my heart to see her so happy. My cousin Hadley.

I was so caught up in the surprise of it, by the time I looked back, the girl was gone. Bill pulled on my arm impatiently, so I continued to follow him, but I had to know if she was around.

"Bill, that girl back there, she was thinking about my cousin, Hadley. Is she here? She had fang marks on her neck," I said and Bill stiffened up.

He ignored me and I slowed down again, causing him to pull painfully on my arm.

"Bill, what's the matter? Where is she? Why won't you tell me?" I asked, frightened by his reaction, though I wasn't sure why.

"You may ask the queen later if you wish," he said abruptly. I tried to ask more questions, but I was not successful in getting anything more. I was only successful at irritating him more than ever. So much for progress.

The night progressed well. More interviews, more awkwardness, more irritation (on both our parts). I was happy that the end of the night had arrived when we went up to see the Queen to give our nightly report. After I told her my findings for the night, I approached the question I'd been thinking about all night.

"Your majesty, I passed a girl in the hallway tonight and she was thinking about my cousin Hadley. Is she here?" I asked hopefully. I yearned for a friendly face.

For a split second, I thought I saw sadness in her eyes before she schooled her expression.

"She is no longer here," she said.

I was flooded with disappointment. "She's not here?" I repeated, wishing I'd heard her wrong.

"She was killed by a vampire in my court," she said in a monotone voice. She wasn't exactly the most expressive person I'd ever met, most vampires weren't, but it seemed that there was more too it.

"He has met his final death," she stated.

I was relieved that her killer was dead. "Are you sure he is dead?" I asked.

"You question me? I beheaded him myself," she said with a certain level of satisfaction.

"Oh," I said lamely. What the hell do you say to something like that?

"I am thirsty," she stated and beckoned me closer. Well, that's one way to change the conversation and I've got to say, not my favorite way to change subjects; not when my blood is involved.

She fed quickly from my wrist, making little moaning sounds as she drank. Then she called in a couple of the female fangbangers, and Bill and I left rather quickly. They were already undressing before we made it out of the room.

I at least got more of an explanation. One of the girls was thinking about an orgy involving my cousin and the Queen. Not an image I wanted in my head, but I could see the love and affection in the queen's eyes as she looked at Hadley. I was glad that she had someone to love her before she died. I hoped that she had found happiness in her life before it was ended.

It wasn't until later, that I realized that the coincidence of my cousin being so close to the vampire queen, and her being the same queen that found me and imprisoned me, was really no coincidence at all. It was pretty obvious when I thought about it. My name had been in the papers for quite a while. My arrest and the charges were in the papers. My move to a mental hospital was also in the papers, in order to discredit any accusations I might make, though they hadn't specified what hospital.

The vampires knew my name and she'd probably heard from Hadley about my quirk. It was hard to hide when I was younger. Hadley especially seemed put out my ability. She preferred to be center of attention, and didn't want to be associated with her cousin 'Crazy Sookie'.

It all made sense, and I could come to no other conclusion. My cousin sold me out. She was the reason I was now imprisoned by the vampires. I had never felt so betrayed.

We did more interviews over the next several days, and eventually I found two business partners that had been skimming off the top. Bill had a cold, calculating look on his face when he heard my report after the meeting. He looked like he was going to go after the men.

"Bill, what will happen to them?" I asked, timidly.

I hated being in this position. For two years, I had to give people's secrets away to the government. I had seen people beaten and tortured, though always away from any possible scrutiny. I knew that the information I gave out sometimes led to people's deaths. There were times that I knew that the people would be killed either way. Most of the time, the people were guilty as hell. Many had done horrible, unimaginable things. Nonetheless, the guilt that I felt from my part in their fates…well, there were times that I felt completely smothered by the guilt. There were times I felt worthy of death myself, for my part in others deaths. There were times that I recalled all the things that my Gran had taught me, the morals she ingrained in me, and I would realize that she would be ashamed of what I had become.

Had I much of a choice? No, but she would be ashamed of the things I had done. She would be ashamed of who I had become. It was times like those, feeling the weight of the guilt, remorse and shame that I felt like giving up. Then I would feel ashamed for feeling sorry for myself, and I would find a reserve of strength inside me and I would pick myself up and go on.

Now, though, I was the prisoner of the vampires. I'd been put in a similar situation, but these vampires, they had no illusion of following the law to uphold. They had rules, sure, but torture and murder were not against those rules. I was again between a rock and a hard place, and I felt as though I was being crushed. My very spirit was being crushed under the weight of it.

And so here again, I was throwing myself a little pity party. Suck it up, Sookie. I looked at Bill until he was clear on the fact that I was not going to drop it.

"Bill, I'll ask you again. What will happen to those men?" I asked in a firm, commanding voice.

"That is not for me to decide," he said.

"Then who does decide?" I asked.

"That decision is up to the Queen," he answered.

"Take me to her," I demanded.

His irritation level rose, if that was even possible.

"You do not order me, human," he said in a low cold voice. "You will speak to me with respect."

"Respect is earned. Kidnapping me and holding me against my will does not earn you any kind of respect from me," I said, my voice equally cold.

He grabbed my upper arm roughly and practically dragged me up the Queen's quarters. We showed our respect when we entered the room. Again, I did not feel she had earned my respect in any way, but I also didn't want to get killed. My pride and my survival instinct couldn't seem to agree with what to do.

"What is the problem here?" the queen asked Bill.

"I just want to know what will happen to the men I told Bill are stealing money from you," I stated calmly.

"I wasn't talking to you," she said, looking me up and down before turning her attention back to Bill.

"What is the problem?" she repeated her earlier question.

"She is insolent, your highness. She is rude, demanding and irritating," he stated.

"I've noticed," she said dryly.

"How much did they steal?" she asked him. I was irritated that she was talking to him rather than me, but I remained silent.

"One hundred thousand dollars," Bill stated.

Finally, she turned back to me. "I will answer your question. They will be glamored to reveal where the money is now and they will return it. Then they will be killed."

"Well don't sugarcoat it on my account," I said and immediately regretted my words. Why is it sometimes impossible for me to think before I speak?

I had barely enough time to feel the regret before I was on the floor with her hand around my throat and her fangs bared. She was scary, especially considering how small she was and how young she looked. All bets are off when it comes to vampires.

"You insolent human! The only reason I haven't killed you is that you are an important asset. You will learn respect if you expect to continue to live. I am Queen. I will do as I wish, and I will punish those who steal from me. I will do as I see fit. I do not answer to an insignificant human like yourself. Do not question my authority again, are we clear?" she seethed.

I couldn't answer so I just nodded. Then, despite her size, she picked me up by my arms and threw me across the room.

She, Bill, and Andre continued to talk business, but I was in no condition to listen into their conversation. I hurt everywhere. I was relatively sure that nothing was broken, but I knew I would be sore for a long time. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that such a small, young looking vampire was strong enough to have thrown me across the room like I was no more cumbersome than a feather pillow.

Eventually, Bill took me back to my room. He, of course, was irritated with my slow, injured pace, and finally huffed before picking me up and carrying me. He deposited me on my bed, then left without saying a word.

The following couple months went about the same. Occasionally they would not need me for a night, then I would be left alone to read in my room, but there was usually something for me to do. I was never allowed to call my family. I hadn't been able to do that while the government had me, so I resigned myself to that as well.

On a plus side, I no longer had Bill following me everywhere. I was given a watch, about which, from their reaction, I was supposed to be very excited. It was a little weird. Every couple of days I was given a schedule, of which rooms to go to and the times I was expected.

I was fitted with an ankle alarm similar to the one I'd had while working for the NSA. They tested it out on me to show me how much pain I would be in if I tried to escape. Again, why does everyone feel the need to test them out first? I peed myself when the thing shocked me which, of course, made them look at me in disgust. If you don't like it, don't shock the human!

They were also remodeling a couple of rooms specifically for me. No, I wasn't getting more comfortable living quarters. They were renovating a large conference room and a lounge to have a hidden hallway behind both rooms. There would be a large ornate two-way mirror that I would hide behind. I would be able to read people, and do my job without anyone ever seeing me. There would really be no need for any human interaction for me. No, not ominous at all.

About four months into my vampire service, the first test of my strength arrived. It started out the same as any other boring day…err…night, though Bill would be accompanying me for the night. That is, until, Bill left me for fifteen minutes, so that I could finally get something to eat, before we started for the night. I hadn't had much to eat the day before and was famished.

I was thinking about asking for a mini fridge in my room, but they seemed so put out by my other requests that I didn't want to push it. Plus, there was rarely much to eat in the kitchen, especially anything fresh, and I couldn't imagine that it would be much better if I had my own fridge. I'd requested more food be bought, and explained that I needed to keep up my strength if they were going to continue taking my blood, but…well, let's face it. Nobody cared. I was a useful human, but not an important one. There is a distinct difference, and I had no illusions as to my status.

As I was rummaging through the refrigerator trying to find something edible, I felt a presence behind me. I did a quick mental scan and found a void. I straightened up and turned to face the vampire.

He was a slimy looking vampire with slicked-back hair and super long fingernails. Just looking at him, you knew he was dangerous. Sleazy and dangerous. I knew the type. The type that wanted people to hurt, and were happy to _help_ them get hurt.

"I'll have _you_ for dinner tonight," he sneered as he looked me up and down.

"I'm not available for your 'dinner'," I said, making quotation marks with my fingers. "The Queen and Andre are the only ones allowed to drink from me." I couldn't help the fact that my voice wavered. I wasn't very afraid of the others, intimidated sure, but not often outright scared. This guy though, he was bad news. He just had that vibe and he didn't try to hide it.

He grabbed my shoulders roughly and pushed me up against the counter. He ground his crotch against mine. I could feel that he was at attention, and I felt a little queasy at the thought of him touching me in any way. He grabbed my breast roughly with one hand and with the other, he grabbed my hair and pulled my head to the side to expose my neck. He bit down savagely and I cried out from the pain of it. I could feel myself getting lightheaded, and I grabbed blindly behind me trying to find something to use to fight him off. I finally found a knife and I grabbed the handle as my vision started darkening. With the last bit of energy I had, I stabbed him in the neck and I continued stabbing until everything went dark.

When I woke, I felt awful. I hurt everywhere, especially my neck. I was in a different room and as I sat up and looked around, I realized that it looked like a torture chamber or something. That may sound dramatic, but I was pretty sure that's what the room was for. I could smell blood and sweat and a stale burnt flesh smell. I raised my hand to my throat and found I was still bleeding, though not heavily.

"Oh good. You are awake. I didn't want to have to wait all night," I heard the Queen say from behind me. I turned around quickly and was frightened by what I saw. Andre was standing next to the queen with an excited look on his face. He held a whip in his hands, and he looked more than eager to use it.

"You spilled the blood of a vampire and you will be punished," the Queen said.

"But he attacked me! I told him that only you and Andre could drink from me and then he attacked me. I was trying not to be killed!" I exclaimed.

"He will be punished as well for trying to take something of mine," she said. I looked to where her attention was and in a dark corner of the room, the vampire was chained to the wall. The chains were silver, but they were padded, which I had been told would weaken him, but would not directly burn his skin. I also knew that vampires healed quickly, but was still a little surprised to see that the wounds I had inflicted by stabbing him were healed.

"Mickey, you came into my home and drank from one of my humans without permission. You threatened the life of one of my important assets. You will be given ten lashes, and you are to stay out of New Orleans for a period of six months. If you injure this asset again, your life will be forfeit," she said.

With that, Andre turned him around and started whipping Mickey's back. The wounds bled, but healed right before our eyes. When he was done, he was released and instructed to leave the city immediately. He gave me one scathing look before running from the room.

"Telepath, you are a guest in my home and you injured one of the vampires that owes me fealty. Though you were acting in self defense, your life is not more valuable than a vampire, even when that vampire is as vile as Mickey. You will receive twenty lashes for this blood offense."

I was in shock and before I knew it, Andre had me chained against the wall and he started whipping me. The pain was immediate, excruciating, and all consuming. The sound of the leather snapping against my skin was almost deafening. I could feel the blood pouring from my back and I could hear it dripping onto the cement floor between hits. Over and over he whipped me, and my resolve to not make a sound only lasted the first couple of hits. Andre and the Queen both enjoyed my pain. By the time he was done, I was thankful I could actually no longer feel the pain.

I vaguely was aware that I was carried to my room and they were talking about calling the doctor. There was a lot of movement around me and some arguing, but I couldn't respond, nor did I care to. I felt so cold and I knew from the first aid classes I took, that I was going into shock.

At some point I was suddenly aware that I was staring at the stack of books on my desk next to the bed. It took me a long time to remember being brought to my room. I recognized one of the fangbangers at my side. She had tied a tourniquet around my arm and before I knew it, she'd started an IV.

"I was a nursing student until I ran out of money for school," she explained. "The most anyone was supposed to do for you was clean you up, but you need blood. I'm not supposed to be in here, so please don't say anything."

I couldn't answer her, but instead just closed my eyes. Hopefully she'd get the message that I was no danger to her secret.

"Why the hell did you try to kill a vampire? You are lucky you weren't killed," she said. I couldn't respond and I knew it didn't matter anyway.

I never had much contact with the other humans in the house, and they were discouraged from associating with me. This would only encourage that separation. They wouldn't want to be associated with the girl that tried to kill a vampire; not when they were trying to get the attention of the vampires.

She gave me a blood transfusion, and then she started to wash my back. When I didn't think I could handle anymore, I saw her take out a big tube of antibiotic ointment and squeeze a bunch onto her hand. I didn't even have the strength to cry out when she started spreading the ointment on my back. When my vision started to fade, I was thankful. I wasn't sure if I was dying or just passing out, but either way, it would be a relief to me.

* * *

I'd love to know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	6. Good News and a Trip

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

**Author's note: **The last chapter was rather violent, but the worst of the violence is over now. This chapter is still a bit of a downer, but there is hope. Plus we get to see some Eric and who doesn't like that? LOL. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Good news and a trip**

When I woke, I was immediately aware of the pain. I could tell that I had been sleeping a long time, and my muscles all ached something fierce. I tried to move but found that I couldn't and I cried out with the pain of it. Even breathing hurt. I looked blankly at the dingy wall, trying to summon the effort to get up. I heard someone moving next to me, and with great effort, I turned my head the other direction.

I saw a pair of very tall legs next to me, a man, a vampire I could tell from the way he moved, but I couldn't look up enough to see who it was. I saw him turn toward me and he started washing my back very gently, pulling my hair out of the wounds, with more gentleness than I would have thought possible for a vampire.

"What have they done to you?" he asked with such emotion in his voice. I recognized his voice, but I couldn't place him.

"What the hell does it look like they did to me?" I moaned.

He chuckled, but stopped immediately when I hissed in pain at a particularly sore spot.

"I am sorry I am causing you pain, but your wounds need to be cleaned. I will be as quick as I can. Be brave," he said.

"Who are you?" I asked as he continued to work. My eyes were drifting shut no matter how hard I tried to keep them open, but I didn't want to be unaware when I was so exposed and helpless.

"Am I so easy to forget? I am Eric," he said with a smile in his voice.

I felt instantly more secure knowing he was there. I was stupid maybe, trusting him when I was vulnerable, but I felt safe. I succumbed to the pull of sleep and let myself drift away.

When I started regaining consciousness, I was feeling considerably better. I was in that dreaming place between asleep and awake and eventually I realized that there were people quietly arguing in my room.

"What did she do to deserve such punishment?" Eric asked.

"She tried to send a vampire in my home to his final death. She was close to succeeding," a woman's voice said. She sounded bored.

"Why did she do that?" Eric asked. I could hear the irritation creeping into his voice.

"Who knows why she does half of the things she does? She is very strange for a human. A little dim, I think," the woman said flippantly.

"With all due respect, my Queen, you granted me her service for three days, which I earned by acquiring this asset in my territory in the first place, and I arrive to find her in this condition? Her talent will be useless to me with her injured like this," he said in voice void of emotion. He really was good at keeping that mask up.

I was surprised to realize that the Queen herself was here. He had actually gotten her to come to my room. She'd never been there before.

"Viking, remember your place," the queen said.

"I remember, but your highness, this kind of thing is no longer allowed with the revelation coming. You agreed with the others that unpaid slaves are not allowed. Beating and torturing humans for sport is not allowed. If the revelation is going to be pulled off, we need to at least attempt to operate within the law. Human's will start hunting us down once they know we exist, _and_ that we keep young women as prisoners, and then beat them. You are pushing the line keeping her prisoner as it is, and I told you that from the beginning." If possible, he actually sounded rather respectful as he said it.

"Sheriff, if it matters that much to you, I will allow you to keep her the entire week. You may give her blood to heal her if her injuries bother you so much," the Queen said dismissively.

At this point I was awake enough that I decided I might as well join the conversation.

I sat up to face them, regretting my action almost immediately because I was both still injured and naked. Eric, the Queen and another woman in the room looked me up and down appreciatively, and their fangs came down. At any other time, that might have embarrassed me, but I didn't really care at that point. I did however, pull the blanket up to cover myself.

"You're taking me for a week?" I asked Eric.

"Yes," he said simply and then he started looking at me funny. I was starting to get self conscious when he suddenly looked enraged and came at me. I cringed away from him and he looked chagrined at his behavior.

"Don't worry, Sookie, I will not harm you," he said quietly. He reached down and pulled my hair out of the way, exposing my neck. My hand instantly went up to hide the mess that was my neck. Mickey hadn't just used his fangs. He had viciously ripped at my throat. He hadn't gotten a good enough angle to tear open the carotid artery, but it had still bled an amazing amount. Gentle as can be, Eric pulled my hand from my neck and looked at the wound. He must not have seen it earlier when he was looking at my injuries. My hair must have been covering it.

I could feel his fury and see it in his eyes. He schooled his expression but I could still see it under his mask. When Eric spoke, his voice was calm and emotionless. "Your majesty, it appears that the vampire she attacked, first tried to rip out her throat. This was a fully justifiable case of self defense. You have agreed, along with the council and the other leaders, that humans will not be harmed for defending themselves. You are walking a fine line, your majesty. You are threatening the reveal before it has even happened. For the first time we may have the option of walking among humans. We will no longer have to hide and pretend to be human to conceal what we are. You threaten us all by your actions."

"Sheriff, you will watch your words and remember that you have pledged fealty to me. You owe me your respect and obedience," she spit out.

"You have my respect and obedience, my Queen, but we all are anxious about the reveal, and I would hate for Louisiana's position to be compromised because of this," he said very cautiously. I knew as well as he did that he was crossing the line, which the Queen was being overly tolerant about, from what I had observed thus far.

"Eric," the other woman said, speaking for the first time. She proceeded to quickly say something to him in another language and he nodded slightly at her.

Eric came back over to me. He took one more look at my neck.

"Do you know the name of the vampire that did this to you?" he asked me.

"Mickey," I whispered. He closed his eyes and I could see the tremendous effort it took to contain his anger.

"You punished her for trying to kill _Mickey_? He is a menace! You've said it yourself!" Eric said sounding more exasperated than angry, though I knew he was both. He muttered something in another language under his breath.

"My patience is waning Viking. You speak as though you are the one in power. Are you planning on become King? Do you wish to overthrow me?" she asked, looking quite dangerous herself.

"I have no wish to be King. I just want to live my life."

"Then you will give me respect, or I will send you to your final death myself," the Queen spit out and I knew she was deadly serious. Evidently Eric recognized that fact too.

"I apologize for disrespecting you, your majesty," he said. "I will heal her wounds. We will return in a week," Eric said. Without another word, he wrapped the sheet around me, picked me up and took me from my room.

"Don't worry, little one, I will take care of you," he whispered in my ear. My exhaustion from my short time awake was too much for me, and I was asleep before we were even out of the building.

When I woke up, I was in a car. I heard the noise of the road beneath, and the rhythmic white noise nearly put me back to sleep. Then I remembered what had happened before I passed out, I woke up again.

"She's awake," said a woman's voice.

"Sookie?" Eric asked. I opened my eyes and looked up into his blue eyes. His gaze was so intense I blushed.

"It's good to see you with a little more color. They gave you a blood transfusion, but you are still pale," Eric explained.

I moved to sit up and when he saw what I was trying to do, Eric assisted me. My body screamed at me in pain, though it was still much better than the night before. I looked down and saw I was still just wrapped in the sheet from my bed. I pulled it up tight around me, even though my back screamed at me.

"I know you are in pain. I can give you some of my blood to heal you," Eric said to me.

The woman from my room earlier was driving the car. When she heard what he said, she turned around at vampire speed with a look of astonishment. She was a very pretty woman, maybe in her early twenties when she was changed into a vampire. She had a soccer mom look that I hadn't really noticed earlier. I found it rather peculiar, but I knew from my experience that there are a lot of misconceptions about vampires.

"Sookie," Eric said and I realized my mind had wandered. I still didn't feel completely awake.

"What?" I asked. I was pretty sure he'd asked me a question.

"I am offering you some of my blood to heal you," he said as though I was slow, which frankly, at that point, I was.

"I don't want to be a vampire," I stated. I didn't know a lot anymore, but I did know that.

"You won't. I'm just going to give you a small amount. It will help heal you," he explained.

I thought about it. "There is no danger of me becoming a vampire?" I asked again.

"None at all," he said and then told me the process for becoming a vampire, and the amount of the exchange necessary for the change to happen. I watched him carefully and though I couldn't hear his thoughts, I believed him.

"Are there any other side effects?" I asked.

"I will be able to sense your emotions when I give you my blood, but the amount will be so minimal that I doubt there will be any other side effects," he said dismissively.

"What are the other possible side effects?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him.

"You will feel healthy, and strong, and it may increase your libido," he said, waggling his eyebrows at me. I laughed but then moaned with the pain of that action.

"I don't think I'll need any help with my libido. Being a prisoner doesn't do much for a girl's social life," I said and then I snickered, remembering my first week.

"What is so funny about that?" Eric asked, looking confused at my reaction.

"My first week, the Queen had the idea that if I were to fall in love with a vampire perhaps I would be more cooperative and loyal," I explained. "I found out, after about a week, that Bill had been ordered to seduce me."

Both Eric and the woman driving laughed.

"It was pretty funny. He flirted with me and everything, but I was really more of an annoyance to him than anything else. He'd go back and forth between being annoyed and flirting. Not a nice combination. I overheard Bill and the Queen arguing over it, and I came right out and told them it wouldn't work. She was pretty upset with Bill for not succeeding, and with me for overhearing her plan, but at least he stopped bugging me."

"Never send Bill to do a man's job," Eric laughed and I laughed along with him until, once again, my body reminded me what had happened to it.

"You are in pain. Please take some of my blood. Vampires do not offer their blood freely or often," he said. I looked at him for a long moment before finally nodding.

He punctured his wrist with his fangs and held it out for me to suck. He looked a little overly happy at this. I steadied my stomach which was doing flip flops at the prospect of ingesting blood, and opened my mouth. He put his dripping wrist up to my mouth and instructed me to suck. I rolled my eyes at him as he smirked at me, and as ladylike as possible I sucked lightly on the wound as I tried not to gag, and he moaned loudly, clearly enjoying himself. I quickly released his arm. He may enjoy the whole blood exchange thing, but I am not a vampire. He looked rather disappointed that I'd stopped but he took it in stride. I watched as his wrist healed itself right in front of my eyes.

His blood did not taste like I was expecting. It was thick and almost sweet, not metallic like human blood. It didn't disgust me like I'd also been expecting. That alone confused and intrigued me, and I knew I would have to think about that later.

I could feel my body starting to heal. His blood really was good for the body. Not only was I healing, but I was also just in general feeling healthier and stronger. It was definitely an interesting sensation.

He pushed my hair out of the way, and then I heard him bite his finger. He rubbed it against my neck and very quickly it started feeling like new. He asked me to lean forward and he continued to do the same to the whip marks on my back.

"So what kind of punishment did Mickey get?" Eric asked.

"Ten lashes, and he was told to stay out of New Orleans for six months," I said. Eric frowned at me.

"How many did you get?" the woman asked.

"Twenty," I said.

"Sophie Anne said you tried to kill Mickey. How did you do that?" Eric asked.

"Well he attacked me when I was in the kitchen. He latched onto my neck, and I blindly reached behind me for a weapon. A steak knife was the first thing I found. I stabbed him in the neck. He was already healed by the time I woke up."

"She was attacked, by Mickey of all people, she defended herself and then she got twice the punishment as the vampire who attacked her?" the woman asked.

"Pamela," Eric said in a warning tone and she went back to concentrating on her driving.

"Was he lashed with a silver whip?" Eric asked.

"No," I said. I'd had to witness that before and it was definitely not pretty. The smell of burnt flesh became almost unbearable.

Both Eric and Pamela looked upset, but they didn't say anything further on the subject.

"So, I don't suppose you grabbed any clothes for me?" I asked.

"I was in a rush to leave. Pam will have something that you can wear when we arrive back in Shreveport," he said. Great. Several more hours of being in nothing but a white bed sheet, still covered in my own blood.

"Do you prefer Pam or Pamela?" I asked her after a second. I wanted to know what she preferred. I wasn't sure if I'd be spending any time with her, but I liked to know who I was dealing with. It gave me a false sense of control when in reality, I had none.

"Pam is fine," she said with curiosity in her voice.

"It's nice to meet you, Pam. I'm Sookie," I said.

"I know who you are," she stated, now sounding confused.

"I figured you probably knew who I was, but I was trying to be polite by introducing myself," I explained. I'd found that no matter how well vampires could fit in and blend in with society, there were social nuances that they just didn't get. Sometimes it was easier to just explain it.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Sookie," Pam finally said after several minutes of silence.

"You are an unusual human," she noted.

"I've been told," I said.

"You must keep the Queen entertained," she said, looking at me through the rear-view mirror.

"I'm not sure I'd call it 'entertained'. She finds me annoying, insolent, and ungrateful. She's always finding new ways to get the point across that she dislikes me," I said with a small laugh and they laughed with me before we all lapsed into silence once again. It was rather nice having vampires laughing with me instead of at me. Although, really, vampires rarely laughed.

"Were you able to contact Alcide's father and the others?" I asked after a while.

"I did. Mr. Herveaux was very happy to have the information, and they were able to get him out of that place. There was a big expose about it in the news. They claimed that the people were being held legally but paperwork was missing. They had to let most of them go. Did you not hear?" he asked.

"No, I'm not allowed to see or read any news," I said as I watched the scenery go by.

"Did you hear about how _your_ case was handled?" he asked.

"No," I responded, anxious to know.

"You were there under real charges, so you wouldn't have been let go in any case, but you are now an escaped federal convict. They are claiming that you drugged the guards and that you escaped," Eric explained.

There would never be any going back. This was my life. Even my Gran and my brother probably thought of me as a fugitive. This was my life.

"Well, that's rather depressing," I said.

"How is that depressing?" Pam asked.

"I will never be able to go home. This is my life. I am a prisoner. That's all I have," I explained and a long silence followed.

"You are not allowed to watch news or talk to the other humans. What _are_ you allowed to do?" Pam asked change the subject from one depressing thing to another.

"I am allowed to work, and I am allowed to read in my room. Some of the girls in the house have brought me books to read, but I'm not really allowed to talk to them," I said. I remembered the kindness of the girl who'd helped me the night before, and I knew I'd have to try to figure out some way to repay her. She could have gotten into loads of trouble by helping me. I didn't know how she could have gotten me blood for a transfusion, and I didn't really care. She'd gone above and beyond anything I could have expected.

"They are even building me rooms with one-way mirrors, so that I don't ever have to be in the room with people in order to read them. I'll be able to see them, but they won't see me, and I won't be so far that I can't read their thoughts. Nobody will even know I'm there," I said. Okay, I might have been slightly bitter. I wasn't sure if they realized that I knew what they were doing by making the rooms that way, but I knew.

Eric and Pam didn't say anything about that.

"So I heard you talking to the Queen and it sounded like y'all are going to publicly reveal your existence," I said.

"We are. The Reveal is set for two months from now," Eric said.

"Are you nervous about that?" I asked.

"Yes and no," he answered cautiously. "It will be nice not to have to hide ourselves anymore, but I am unsure how people will respond to us. The basic premise is that the new synthetic blood means that we no longer have to be a danger to humans, and we can live safely side by side."

"The synthetic blood will eliminate your need to feed from humans?" I asked, surprised.

"That stuff is disgusting," Pam chimed in.

"I agree. It will reduce the amount of blood we would need to take from a human, and it will also allow us to be able to drink in social settings. In reality it is not a good substitute for the real thing," Eric said.

"So it's like a diet beverage. You'll drink it but the real stuff always tastes better," I suggested.

"Worse than that. It is like being at a buffet of delicious food around you, and you are stuck with brussel sprouts," he said. I laughed.

"And they are not supposed to keep me prisoner once y'all announce yourselves?" I asked. Neither of them said anything and there was a bit of an awkward silence.

"That's what I thought," I said. "I didn't expect any less. Nobody will even know I'm there," I said. "Actually, nobody knows that I'm there now except the vampires, and a couple fangbangers who don't actually know who I am."

That was the sad truth of it. Nobody would know I was there, and there was nothing I could do about it. Pam and Eric seemed nice enough, but they couldn't go against their Queen. It would cost them their lives and I would never ask that of them.

"Have you not spoken to your grandmother as Sophie Anne said she would allow?" Eric finally asked.

I felt choked up, but I forced the emotion down. "No. She kept putting off when I could make my phone call, until I got on the Queen's bad side. By that point I knew it would never be allowed anyway. I doubt that she was ever planning on keeping her word. Well, since we still have a good drive ahead of us, you mind if I take a little nap?" I asked.

"Go ahead," he said. He slipped into the front seat, and I lay down across the back seat. It wasn't comfortable, but that didn't really matter to me. I didn't really get comfortable anymore. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't help but silently cry myself to sleep.

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Thanks for reading!


	7. Shreveport

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

**Author's note: **I know that the humans and fangbangers are treated differently than the fangbangers in the books, but this is prior to the Great Revelation, and humans are little more than food and 'entertainment' to the vampires at that point. They don't have to worry about the treatment of the humans because the rest of the humans don't believe that vampires even exist, but change is coming...

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Shreveport**

"Telepath!"

I opened my eyes and realized that the car was stopped and I was the only one still in the car. Pam had the back door of the car open and evidently was waiting for me.

"My name is Sookie," I reminded her.

"I did not forget," she said dryly.

"Just making sure," I said, just as dryly, as I got out of the car. I made sure that the sheet covered me.

"My master seems quite intrigued with you, but I do not see why. You do come in a very nice package and you smell delicious, but I don't see why you are worth all this trouble," Pam said. Gotta love honesty. At least I was pretty tough from spending my entire life hearing all the things people disliked about me.

"Honestly, I don't see why I'm worth all the trouble either. I'm really not that interesting," I agreed. She looked taken aback.

"Are we going inside?" I asked. She nodded and led the way.

"He is your master?" I asked.

"Yes, he is my creator. He made me Vampire," she said.

"Is he a good master?" I asked.

She looked quite surprised that I asked, but she answered me. "He is."

"Even though he killed you?" I asked. I knew for a fact that it irritated vampires when I pointed out that their makers killed them. I knew it, but I asked anyway.

"He did not kill me. I am immortal now. He gave me so much more than he took. I like my life," she said, rather defensively.

"Are you happy?" I asked, truly curious. Like she'd said, she seemed to like her life.

"Yes," she stated simply and then she led me into the house.

We were in a small, unassuming neighborhood in front of a brown two story house. It was even weirder when I realized that it was really Eric's house. Nothing about it said that a vampire lived there. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting but that wasn't it. I was far beyond most of the misconceptions about vampires, but Eric was larger than life, and it just seemed a little understated for what I knew of him.

"I will get you something to wear," Pam said.

"The queen has given me very specific instructions for your stay," Eric said and I dreaded what was coming.

"I have two light-tight security rooms in the basement of this house. Pam and I will stay in one; you will be in the other. You will have a bathroom and food, but the room will only be able to be opened from the outside using a security code. Pam and I will be the only ones with the code. The queen instructed me to chain you up during my rest time as well, but just between the two of us, I will probably forget to do that," he said.

"That would be nice. It's hard to sleep when I'm chained up," I said and Eric laughed.

"It's not funny. It's very uncomfortable, but I suppose that's the point of it," I continued rather irritated and he stopped laughing instantly.

"You are tied up often when you sleep?" he asked.

"No, not often. It was more often when I was at the hospital actually, but the queen has discovered how much I dislike it so that's often used as a punishment for being 'disrespectful'," I said, making quotation marks with my fingers. I knew I could get in trouble for saying that since he was her subject, but I just didn't care.

"Give me an example," Eric demanded.

"Oh, if I'm just overly rude...well, there was one time that I was starting to feel weak and I asked them if I could skip a couple of days of them feeding from me. I was perfectly polite, but they decided that I needed to be reminded of my place."

"Sophie Anne and Andre?" Pam asked. I nodded.

"You won't have to worry about that here," he said. "I will treat you with respect and I expect you will do the same. If you try to escape, I will find you, and you will not be happy when I do."

He was honest and truthful. I could and did respect that.

"I wouldn't expect any less," I said.

Eric showed me to my room and a couple of minutes later, Pam brought me a small pile of clothes to wear during my stay. It was a good thing that we were close to the same size. I was a bit curvier and definitely heavier on top, but as I held up the shirts, they were a bigger style and would be good enough for a couple of days. There was a pair of a loose- style jeans, and a couple pairs of exercise pants. They would do me just fine.

"These are all last year's styles, but I figured that you wouldn't mind. It's better than wearing a sheet," she commented.

"Thank you, Pam. It looks perfect. Thank you," I said, sincerely.

"I brought flip-flops for you to wear since you have larger feet," she said before leaving.

"That's fine. Thank you, Pam," I called out, even though see was already gone. If she hadn't gone far, she'd probably hear me anyway.

I took a quick but hot shower and was relieved to finally get clean. It was one of the best showers I'd ever had, even if Eric didn't help like he had offered. That would have been a lot better, but definitely more complicated. I didn't want to go there. I had to keep telling myself that so I wouldn't forget.

When I was done taking care of my personal hygiene and was dressed again, Eric knocked on my door before entering.

"I don't know why you knock. You are the one with the key," I said smiling at him. He, on the other hand, looked bothered by this.

"Why does that bother you?" I asked. I couldn't figure him out a lot of the time. "You are a vampire and I'm sure you've done your fair share of bad things over time. I'm sure you've held prisoners, even tortured people. So why do you feel bad about me?" I asked.

"You are an innocent. You are not being held prisoner because you did something wrong – stolen from us or deceived us – and you haven't even complained much about it, yet you are beaten. There is no purpose for it," he said slowly. "I was not particularly upset when I knew that you were going to be the queen's new telepath or even knowing that you would be her telepath against your will, but…this isn't right."

There was a long pause.

"She has gone too far," I heard faintly as Eric left the room.

I had a king sized bed all to myself and it was so fluffy it was like sleeping on a cloud. I was freshly washed and in clean clothes and I was safe, safer than I had been in a long time. Although I slept well that night, or rather, day, I still woke myself every couple of hours. I was so used to not letting myself fall too deeply asleep and it was hard to let that go. Regardless, it was the best night of sleep that I'd had in years.

I woke to a strong pair of hands shaking my shoulders and I let out a screech. When I opened my eyes I realized it was Pam.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I exclaimed and finally the shaking stopped.

"You are a hard person to wake up," she said dryly when I sat up.

"_You_ are a hard person to wake up _to_," I replied and got a small, fangy smile from her.

"I could make your wakeup call a little more pleasant for you," she suggested as her smile grew.

I laughed. "Sorry, Pam. I don't swing that way, but thank you for the offer."

"Let me know if you change your mind.

"We need to be going. You have half an hour to get ready before we leave," she said and with that she turned on her heel and left the room.

I went through my regular routine, minus the shower since I had showered right before bed. I didn't have anything very fancy to wear, but that was okay with me. I just picked out the pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It was comfortable. I found a small stash of food and a mini-fridge filled with marketing samples of True Blood and a gallon of milk. I quickly ate two protein bars and drank the milk straight from the jug, since I couldn't find a glass. I hadn't eaten in a long time, over two days in fact and I was famished. Pam looked almost disappointed that I was ready on time. I was pretty sure that she was looking for reasons to dislike me.

We got into a red corvette which was obviously Eric's baby and drove for about ten minutes before stopping. We were at the back entrance to a large bar located at the end of a strip mall. The bar had been closed for some time it looked like, but there were signs of recent construction on the exterior. When we got inside, the destruction was evident. It appeared that the place was in the middle of being gutted. There was a card table set up in the middle of the room with blueprints spread out, but the actual construction was just getting started. There appeared to be an office space that was somewhat completed, though I didn't get a good look in there as we walked by.

"Why are we here?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Pam looked rather put out by my question and then looked surprised when Eric answered me. She continually seemed to be surprised with how he reacted to me. It was true that he treated me more like a person than any of the other vampires. Was that unusual for him?

"This is the location of our new bar. We are timing our opening to be a week after the vampire reveal. We'll actually be advertising ourselves as a vampire bar prior to the great reveal, but a week before they will find out how true our advertising is," Eric explained.

"That'll be great advertising for a grand opening. Great shock value," I mused. "Are you worried about violence or fanatics?" I asked.

"It is a possibility, but we will be ready for it," he said.

"Extra security has been arranged already and the week will be VIP only, to control who is allowed in," Pam volunteered.

"So are you having your contractors come here?" I asked and he nodded.

"The contractor interviews are tonight. Tomorrow we'll have some other business associates – accountant, lawyer, etcetera. I do not have definite plans for the rest of your time here as I was not expecting you to be here for the entire week, but I am sure I will find something for you to do," he said with a slight leer.

Just then, in walked two women. The first woman looked to be in her early thirties, and was relatively pretty but overly made-up and had Swiss cheese for a brain. Evidently she was a regular victim of glamor. She'd been with Pam several times before but didn't know that Pam was a vampire. That part of the encounter had been glamored away. It was interesting to see how the mind responded to part of the memory being altered. She glossed over the missing or fuzzy parts of the memory like it just wasn't important.

The second woman hung back a little, more nervous about being here. She was a pretty brunette, had recently broken up with her boyfriend and was looking for a rebound one-night stand, but wasn't sure if she wanted a threesome with her friend and Pam. She really wasn't into women, but the idea that it might upset her ex more if he found out about a _lesbian_ threesome than a simple one-night stand, had her warming up to the idea. I quickly got back out of their heads.

Pam walked right up to the brunette while looking into her eyes. She instantly relaxed and without saying a word, leaned down and bit into her neck. They were both moaning and touching each other so I looked away. I heard all three of them heading down the hallway that I assumed lead to the offices.

"I'm quite thirsty myself," Eric said and I held out my arm. He looked taken aback.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You are offering me your blood?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, suddenly realizing that he didn't know that was part of the arrangement. I withdrew my arm in embarrassment.

"That's part of the deal," I explained. "Normally the queen and Andre are the only ones that are allowed to feed from me, but she's told me that if she loans me out or if someone important is there, I will feed them instead. I am part fairy at it's supposedly a treat," I said shrugging and rolling my eyes. It was just getting more and more depressing that this was a normal part of my life.

"Are you required to perform other services?" he asked with fire in his eyes and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was getting at.

"That is pretty much the only thing that she and I have agreed on. I am not a whore, and she does not allow anyone to force me. Any other kind of abuse is fine as long as they don't damage me too much, but at least I'm not forced to do _that_," I said.

"I would love to enjoy both your sweet blood and delectable body, and I would show you great pleasure, but I will never force you. I will never ask you to give of yourself, body or blood, unless you wish me to," Eric said and walked away. He was a decent vampire and a decent man. There were very few of either that I'd met during my life but he seemed to be one.

Eric headed down the same hallway Pam and the two women had gone. I got a flash of Eric entering the office from the eyes of one of the human women. She'd been surprised and it had sounded like a shout to me, catching my attention. I watched her get on her knees in front of Eric, and start to unbutton his jeans. I pulled out of her head quickly and tried to squash down my surprising irrational jealousy that had snuck up on me.

The construction people started coming in a couple of minutes later. There were carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other people whose positions I wasn't very sure of because I don't really know anything about any of those things. I was a bit surprised that a lot of the workers were Were's and shifters. They didn't like the vampires and vice versa, but they were respectful of their business relationship.

The Were's and shifters also knew why I was there, which was kind of a relief to me. They didn't seem to be blocking their thoughts, so it wasn't like they were hiding themselves from me. Frankly, it was just nice to not have to hide myself. There were some humans there too that didn't know, but surprisingly they were in the minority.

As I scanned the large room, I was happy to see that the construction crew had brought a bunch of sub sandwiches, chips and sodas, though it had already been picked through. I looked around, unsure if it was a free for all or if it was only for the crew. My earlier snack had helped, but my body was telling me that I needed more sustenance, and it looked like everyone else had already finished eating.

A big scruffy looking man saw me eying the food and came over to me. He was a shifter of some sort, but easier than most to read. "Help yourself. There's plenty to go around."

"Thank you," I said politely.

"Vamps tend to forget that their humans need to eat. I'm James," he said, holding out his rather dirty hand.

I smiled and shook his hand, wishing it was a little less grimy since I was about to eat. I'd been raised to be polite, so I just shrugged off the discomfort and concentrated on how nice it was of him to offer me dinner and a little conversation while my vampires were…otherwise occupied.

"You seem like a good girl," he said very quietly. "What the hell is a nice girl like you doin' working for the vamps?"

I blushed and reminded myself that the vampires had very good hearing. Sure, I could try to tell them that I was a prisoner, and maybe they could do something, but even if they cared enough to do something about it, I would be in a lot of trouble before they even got the chance to help me. Sure, Eric had been very nice and very fair to me so far, but I had no doubt it was still 'Vampires first'. Besides, I didn't like the thoughts James had going through his head about me. A creep is a creep, no matter the species.

"It's a long story," I finally answered quietly. I made sure I had a polite smile on my face and it only felt a little forced.

"Thank you for the sandwich," I said. I nodded in his direction and we headed our separate ways. As there was very little finished space, I found a spot on the floor to sit and I watched the workers do their thing while I ate. It was nice having good food. The sandwiches and chips weren't anything fancy by any means, but it was fresh, healthy and tasty. As time went on, the provisions I was given in my palace prison had gone down in quality, little by little. I appreciated getting something fresh again.

As it got close to time for the interviews to start, more and more humans started coming.

Eventually Pam and Eric sent away their heavily glamored 'companions'. They looked well fed again, losing some of the pallor typical of the hungry vampire, though all vampires still remained rather pale.

"Did you have a nice dinner?" I asked them politely, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I had to eat, they had to eat. It's just that I normally didn't have sex with dinner. Though…maybe I'd be a little less crabby if I did.

"Oh yes," Pam answered, her fangs prominent as she smiled. Eric just smiled at me, though as I looked away, out of the corner of my eye, I caught him looking at me with a strange look.

Once we finally got to work, Eric and Pam primarily conducted the interviews themselves and I chimed in when I wanted to lead their thoughts in a particular direction. It was primarily the humans that we interviewed, but some of the more important two-natured workers we interviewed as well. I wasn't able to read them as easily of course, but with them knowing what I was, I was able to hold their hands, during the interviews, to help me read them. I didn't really find anything of interest, other than a couple of the human carpenters that liked to smoke up while working (and I don't mean cigarettes). Eric and Pam didn't really care as long as they did their work.

While we did the interviews, the others continued working around us. They were on a tight time schedule, and were getting paid quite well, so they were working late to get it all done. I was exhausted by the time Eric finally announced that we were finished though I was still surprised to see that it was five o'clock in the morning.

"Come, little one. We are done for the night and you need some rest," he said as he led me toward the door. I shivered as I felt his hand on the small of my back, and then I turned bright red when he started chuckling. I had decided that I _really_ didn't like him feeling my emotions. I was a rather private person. I was privy to everyones private thoughts (with the exception of vampires, of course), and that made me even more protective of keeping my own thoughts, and keeping _myself_ private. The internal me was the only thing I really had control of anymore, and I didn't really have that.

The thing that irritated me the most was the fact that I would have been more upset about him feeling my emotions if I wasn't so attracted to him. It made me feel cheap. It made me feel like a fool. But damn if I still didn't feel like jumping him.

ooo000ooo

The following day, it was just Eric and I. This time we went around to the various offices of the business people we were interviewing: We went to two accounting firms, a financial planning office, and a law firm. None of the people we interviewed were thrilled with meeting in the evening, but the dollar signs dancing in front of their eyes was incentive enough to put up with the irregular hours. I informed Eric that one of the accountants knew there was something 'off' about him and was rather suspicious, but since the reveal was quickly approaching, he didn't feel it was going to be an issue.

"Tell me about your conditions in the palace," Eric said abruptly as he drove back towards Shreveport from our last appointment of the night.

"Well, you already saw my room," I said. "They provide me with nice clothes, though the quality has gone down. They haven't been replacing the clothes that have gotten bloodstains on them. That's one of the occupational hazards of working for vampires," I said.

"Do they punish you often then, like the night I picked you up?" he asked, giving me a sharp look.

"No, that was the first time that they've really punished me. They like to manhandle me, throw me around a little, but no that was something new. The Queen was rather irritable for several days before, so maybe she has other trouble going on and was just taking it out on me. That was extreme, even from her," I said.

There was a small silence before I continued. "They gave me a little mini fridge in my room because I often don't get many opportunities to eat at night because I'm working, or on an off-night, they just leave me in my room all night. Sometimes they forget that I need more fresh food than they give me. The Queen and Andre will usually remember when my blood starts tasting funny," I explained.

"Do you take vitamin supplements?"

"Sometimes. It depends on if they remember I need them."

"What else? Do you get nights off?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What do you do on your nights off?"

"I read," I said.

"Are you able to leave your room?" he asked.

"No."

"Are you allowed to go outside?"

"It is very, very rare," I said. It was time for a change in conversation.

"I know vampires don't often like talking about their pasts, but will you tell me about some of the things you've seen?" I asked Eric in the car on our way back to his house.

Eric was silent for a couple of minutes and I was starting to get worried that I'd offended him.

"What time period are you interested in?" Eric asked.

"Um…I remember that you said you were very old. Were you around during the Christian crusades?" I asked. There were so many things that I would love to hear about, but I just picked the first thing that went through my mind.

"I was," he said, and then paused for a couple of minutes. I almost thought he'd decided not to talk to me about it, but he finally spoke again. "Sookie, you continually surprise me. Why are you asking about the Crusades?" he inquired.

"Over the past several years, I have had little to do in my spare time but read. I just finished a book a week or so ago that was set during that time period and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind," I explained.

"What was the book about?" he asked.

"It was about the Templar Knights toward the end of the Crusades. They went from being officially endorsed by the Pope, to being hunted down and tortured, almost overnight," I said.

"Honestly, I don't know much of the human part of the Crusades, since that was not really something that affected me personally. I could tell you about the supernatural world's place during that time in history," Eric volunteered.

"I'd never thought about the supernatural community's part in history," I said, thinking about how much was probably left out of the history books. "That's probably very different than the human's take on things, huh?"

"Oh yes. The Crusades were a very hard time for the supernatural world. Though ridding the 'Holy Land' of the Muslims was the Church's stated purpose of the Crusades, the war spilled over to the supernatural as well. At that point in time, the general population was more superstitious, especially in smaller communities, the small villages. Many knew of our existence, and that of other supernatural creatures. While the Crusades were moving through the lands, the Christian Church was looking for people to persecute for witchcraft and devil worship. Neighbors would accuse each other of these things to get suspicion off themselves. Many innocent people were killed and tortured, in addition to true witches and other Supes. We had to be very careful during those days. I was a relatively young vampire at that time and still with my maker, and we finally left Europe altogether and spent some time in the Orient," Eric explained.

"It sounds just awful. It's hard to imagine the things that the church supported," I responded. After my experiences in the past couple of years, I wasn't the good Christian girl I had been when I was still innocent and naïve about the world. I still believed in God, but the rest was a bit of a fuzzy area for me. Maybe I had seen and experienced too much. Maybe my faith was just weak. I missed the days when everything was so simple to me.

"Many travesties have been committed in the name of various gods. Everyone thinks that they are right and that everyone else is wrong. There are so many horrible things carried out in the name of religion," Eric said.

"I'm not sure it's really about religion. People hate what they fear, and what people fear is the unknown. People are afraid of those that believe differently than them. What if the other guy is right?" I said. "I know from my experience and my curse that all kinds of people have darkness in them. It doesn't matter what religion, what occupation, what species. Everyone is capable of horrible things. The world would be such a better place if people would just try to understand each other," I lamented.

"It would," Eric agreed.

"Not to play on your words, Sookie, but there are some things that we need to discuss to make sure that we understand each other," Eric started. He looked very serious, but not necessarily in a bad way.

"You understand that you cannot tell anyone what we are, correct?" he asked. I nodded slowly.

"You understand that if you try to get someone to rescue you, I am duty bound to fight to protect you as my Queen's asset?"

Again, I nodded.

"You also understand that by telling someone where and by whom you are being held could endanger both that person and yourself?" he asked pointedly.

"Yes," I whispered. I wasn't sure that I liked where this was going.

"I will respect you if you respect me. Are we clear?" Eric asked.

"We're clear," I said.

We pulled up into the garage and without saying another word, Eric got out and went into his house. I had my car door open, but I stayed in my seat, wary of what he was trying to tell me, until I jumped at the sound of the garage door closing loudly behind me. I took a deep breath to collect myself and then belatedly followed Eric into the house.

I found him in his office, working on paperwork. He glanced up at me and nodded in my direction. I returned the nod, a sign of respect in his world, and then I made my way down to my room. It was only half past eleven, a very early night for a vampire, though Eric had made plans for me during daylight hours the next day.

It was only a couple of minutes after I settled into my room that I sensed him standing in the doorway. We stared at each other silently for several moments before he came to sit down on the edge of the bed next to me.

"I told you already that you are considered a fugitive, and a dangerous one. Your grandmother and your brother are still under observation in the hopes that you will contact them. I checked it out and it is not twenty-four hour surveillance, but they are still being watched," Eric stated. I looked down, again blown away by what a mess my life had become.

Eric changed the subject abruptly, making me struggle to figure out what he was talking about. "One of the things that many vampires have a problem with is learning and adapting to the times. That is one reason that I have survived for so long. I have adapted as necessary and I thoroughly enjoy modern conveniences. I enjoy taking long showers and baths with heated, running water. I enjoy driving fast cars. I enjoy my Blackberry phone and the fact that I can use it to check my email, surf the internet and to text my underlings when I need them for something," Eric stated with a smile. He looked like he was up to something, and for the life of me I couldn't understand what he was getting at.

"I also enjoy the fact that I can anonymously buy a disposable, untraceable cell phone to have sitting around the house when private phone calls need to be made, while still protecting my privacy and identity. A phone like that can allow a person, for example, to call a relative to tell them that they are safe, while not disclosing their location at the same time; a phone that won't even indicate which cell-phone tower the signal bounced off of. One thing I have learned is to appreciate what technology offers, while it lasts," Eric said quietly, a warning in his voice at the end. He then left me. On the bed where he had been sitting only seconds before, sat a nondescript black flip phone.

I hesitated for about five seconds before snatching it up, as though I was subconsciously afraid it would magically disappear if I didn't physically hold it in my hands.

For the first time in two and a half years, I dialed a familiar number. My hands shook as I tried to dial, and it took three tries before I could steady my hands enough to press the correct keys. My heart raced as I listened to the phone ringing.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered. I could tell from her scratchy voice that I had wakened her, but I knew without a doubt that she wouldn't care.

"Gran?" I finally squeaked out.

"Sookie? Child is that you?" her voice broke.

"Yeah, Gran, it's me. I miss you," I choked out.

"Sweetheart, I didn't believe a word that they said about you breaking out of prison, attacking those guards. Are you safe?" she asked.

"I'm safe as I can be," I said.

"Where are you, child. I'm coming to get you," she announced. I could hear her keys jingling in the background and I knew she was serious.

"Gran, I can't tell you where I am. They're probably still watching you. I'm safe though," I said.

"We'll get you a better lawyer this time. We'll go to the media and they'll have to admit that they were wrong," Gran said, passionately.

"Gran, you know you can't afford a lawyer, and they wouldn't believe you anyway. I doubt going to the media would help. People get scared of me knowing what they're thinking. That's not going to get me a lot of public sympathy, Gran. For all we know, everyone will agree that I should be locked up," I laughed bitterly.

"I just wanted to call you to tell you that I love you and that I'm safe. I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you," I sobbed.

"You haven't caused me trouble, Sookie. You are who you are and I love you no matter what," she said.

"How is Jason?" I asked.

"You know that boy. He's doing alright, I guess. He's just been made head of the road crew, so he's really happy about that. He's still popular with the girls. I wish that boy would find some sense," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, Gran. I'm not sure he'll ever change. He's always been a ladies' man," I said.

We chatted about the local gossip for a while. She kept trying to lead the conversation back to where I was and what I was doing, but I kept distracting her by asking her more questions.

After an hour, I knew I was going to have to let her go. She kept yawning and I knew she needed her sleep. As much as I wanted to keep talking all night, I knew that the call would have to end sometime. My heart was breaking at the thought.

"Now, Sookie dear, are you in any kind of trouble? Don't lie to me," Gran said.

"Gran, I told you I'm safe," I repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

"You didn't answer my question," she gently admonished.

"Gran, you know me. I always attract trouble," I said, and she sighed quietly.

"I can't tell you, Gran. I'm still a fugitive, you know. I don't want you to get in trouble. I'll be okay," I said gently. "I have people that watch out for me here the best they can. I'll be okay," I said.

"Child, I wish you would tell me. I would help you in any way possible," she said sadly, but she knew I wasn't going to say anything more. We knew each other well. I knew that if she knew where I was, and even if she knew that Vampires were holding me, that she would come for me. She would do anything for me, but I would also do the same for her. This wasn't her fight. She was one of the strongest people I knew but she was also getting up there in age. I couldn't and wouldn't put her life in danger.

"I know, Gran. I'm so glad that I was able to talk to you. I miss you so much," I said, tears streaming down my face.

"I miss you too. I love you so very much, Sookie," she said.

"I need to go, Gran, and you need your sleep. I love you and I will call again if I can, but I probably won't be able to for a long time," I said.

"I love you. Take care of yourself," she cried.

"You too, Gran. I love you too," I cried and then after a couple of seconds, I ended the call. My heart was breaking. I wanted to go home. I would never be able to go home again.

I barely noticed when Eric picked me up and held me as I cried myself to sleep. I woke when Eric was extracting himself from my arms. I had wrapped my whole body around him in my sleep. I was immediately embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed, little one. I like snuggling with you," he said suggestively.

"Eric, thank you. I can't thank you enough," I said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, then kissed my forehead. He left to rest in his own room for the day, and I heard the lock click as he shut the door behind him.

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Thank you for reading! I usually try to respond to each and every review, but I've been really bad at it lately, so let me say thank you now. I apreciate all your reviews and I thank you for the inspiration that they provide me. Thank you for your support and for reading.


	8. Conflicted

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for your editing skills and encouragement. You're the best!

Another big 'Thank you' to those of you that have left reviews. I appreciate every single one and I thank you for taking the time to let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 8 – Conflicted**

I woke up much earlier than usual, nine o'clock, since I'd had the rare opportunity to have an early night. I did, however, feel pretty awful after crying for so long the night before. I'd cried more in the past couple of days that I had in a very long time. I was just feeling worn down.

I wasn't sure what to make of Eric. He had held me last night while I cried, and he held me as I slept. He didn't leave until it was close to dawn. I wasn't sure why he would do that. I wanted to think that he actually cared, but at the same time, I didn't want to put hope into that idea.

Eric was different than most vampires that I had met, and actually different than most men I had met, period. Not all vampires were evil. Like all species, races, intelligent creatures, there were good ones and there were bad ones. It was a bad idea to generalize about an entire group of people. Even after all I'd seen, and as jaded as I had become, I truly believed that. Racism/Species-ism, whatever you want to call it, just leads to hate, and…yes, I know it's a cheesy pun…I hate all that hate. Most of the vampires that I interacted with were not kind to me. Even the good ones thought of humans as far below their social status, and though I didn't agree with it, I could actually understand it. Again it's species-ism, but even if I am looked down upon or hated because of what I am, I don't want to stoop to that level myself, but I digress.

From everything I'd seen so far, Eric was a good man. He had a sense of honor and he gave me respect. I still wasn't respected at the level of a vampire, but I'd take what I could get. He had a sense of humor, a sense of adventure and just…a zest for life. Rather than hating the world he lived in, and those around him, like I'd seen so many times with other vampires, he seemed to still enjoy life and adapted to everything so well. He made me feel human again. Strange, huh? A vampire making me feel more human?

I still had a hard time believing that Eric had let me call my Gran, for which I would be forever grateful. I didn't know when I'd get the chance to talk to her again, and I was also well aware that Gran was also getting up there in age. I just hoped that she wasn't worrying about me. Although, knowing Gran, she'd be worrying anyway. That's what grandmothers do.

I knew that Eric thought that the Queen was going overboard when it came to me. I just wasn't sure what that actually meant to him. He was still my captor, but I also knew that his well-being or even life was on the line if I went missing. He owed the Queen fealty and was bound to everything that went along with that. It wasn't an ideal situation for him to be in.

I knew that Eric wanted me physically, and I him, but I couldn't start something like that. He was at least partly responsible for me being where I was, imprisoned by vampires. If I slept with him, it meant that I was okay with what's happened to me and I wasn't about to do that. I wished it didn't matter to me. I truly did. I would have loved a purely physical release from everything, but I would have hated myself for it. Not to mention that the Queen would most likely use it against me. I couldn't give her, them, the vampires, that leverage over me.

My most likely chance at escaping my imprisonment was with what Eric had been talking about when he came to pick me up; the 'Great Revelation' as it seemed the vampires were calling it. All the royalty had evidently agreed to no longer keeping slaves. I wanted to think that when the 'Great Revelation' happened, the Queen would let me go, or start paying me…something.

A couple of years ago I would have believed that. I'd always expected the best from people, even hearing all the awful thoughts people had. It was their actions that spoke loudest to me and people think a lot of things that they would never do. I think that's the only reason that I managed to stay as optimistic and naïve as I was for so long. I knew now how dark, violent and purely evil people's action could be, and I'd almost come to expect it. I still did my best to think the best of people, but I expected the worst. I was becoming cynical and cold and I hated it.

So since the probability of the Queen just letting me go after the reveal was slim to none, I would be keeping my eyes open for other opportunities. I was sure that there would be more people around, especially with the whole gothic love of all things Vampire, but they wouldn't be much help to me. Humans were almost all easily glamored. As far as I'd seen, I was the only exception to the power of a vampire's glamor, though I had seen one man who was a little resistant to it.

Other vampires weren't going to do anything about my situation. Vamps before food, after all. There were other Supes out there, but shifters and Weres did not hang around the vampires if they had any choice about it, and fairies wouldn't be any help if they wanted to avoid becoming an all you can eat buffet for the vampires.

The only other 'creature' I'd seen was a demon, Mr. Cataliades, but I was pretty sure that the Queen's lawyer wouldn't be the one to go to for help. Plus, it wasn't like I'd actually met the man before either. I'd only seen him though others eyes.

There would probably be others around though, once their existence was out in the open. Vampires traveling more openly and frequently, more fangbangers, even reporters maybe. There would probably be hate groups as well, as Eric and Pam had expressed concern over. I didn't want to go there though. It wasn't all vampires that were bad. It's not like most of them had any choice in their circumstances anyway. I wouldn't want to create more hate, for a whole group of people, over the actions of a select few, and apathy of the rest.

I was brought out of my musings by a loud knock on the door. I'd almost forgotten that Eric had arranged daytime plans for me. I heard the snarly brain of a shape-shifter. It was a Werewolf by the 'flavor' of his brain.

"You have the key," I called. I would never figure out why so many people knocked on my doors when I had no way to open it for them. It was rather degrading every time they knocked; every knock a reminder that I couldn't answer my own door.

I heard the lock disengage and when the door swung open I saw outside my door a big burly man. He'd been there the first night at Fangtasia, but I hadn't spoken to him or even knew what he was doing there.

"You are Miss Stackhouse?" he asked.

"That's me," I said. Seriously? Who else would it be? Did they regularly keep other humans locked up down here?

"I expected you to be ready," he said disapprovingly.

"Sorry to upset you," I said in a snarky voice. "I can be ready in fifteen minutes."

"We need to leave in ten to make the first appointment on time," he said. I rolled my eyes and motioned with my hand for him to leave the room.

He left the door open a crack and I grabbed my clothes and locked the bathroom door behind me. I knew I didn't have time for a shower, so I just did the basics, taking extra care to wash my face well with cold water as I tried to rid the effects of my emotional night. I was fresh and clean, ready to go in eight minutes. I grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water and followed my guard, who I learned was Mark, out to his truck. He owned a security company, I gathered by the advertising on the side of his truck. I had been wondering who would be trusted enough to get me from the locked chamber during the day when Eric was at his most vulnerable in the next room.

The security in Eric's home was top of the line, which, I supposed, was a sign that Mark was good at what he did. I didn't have to be an expert to recognize how sophisticated his security system was. It was actually better than what the Queen had, though she had been upgrading. I hadn't realized at the time, but she was most likely upgrading in preparation for the Great Revelation.

Eric's security was still better however, and I was unsure if there was a specific reason for that or if he was just extra careful. Each of the safe-rooms were independently built, and were independently secure. The doors were steel, and actually the entire framing of the rooms were steel, which made physically forcing the way into the room near impossible even for a vampire, and even with the right tools. Entry to the safe rooms required that both a ten-digit pass code be entered as well as a hand scan on a biometric hand print scanner. I'd gone through a spy book phase a little while back and I was familiar with both systems, both by design and by the security company name. Eric had spared no expense when it came to his security.

Mark was very helpful to me, even though he'd started out by seeming so cold. Eric had wanted me to learn what I could from Mark in addition to the interviews I was conducting. Mark ended up teaching me a lot about interrogations and things to look for security-wise when trying to spot trouble. He went through example after example to help me learn the finer points of what he was teaching me, and then we went to the mall for an hour and he showed me examples of behaviors to look for. I had the advantage of being able to hear their thoughts as well, but I was no longer naïve enough to think that my telepathy would catch everything.

When he was done with his lesson, we spent several more hours speaking with various business people. I had learned that Eric had many businesses, some legal, some not so legal, some he was openly involved with, while others he was a silent partner.

"You've done good today, Miss Stackhouse," Mark said as we sat in our booth waiting for our food. I was overjoyed when I 'heard' that Eric told him to make sure to take me out to a restaurant to get some 'real food'.

"You have a way with people and I never have a clue that you hear something questionable until you tell me about it. You have a great poker face," he complimented me. I hadn't even found anything of importance, just a couple of closet alcoholics and a realtor with questionable, but still legal, business practices.

"I've had to have a good poker face. I used to smile compulsively when I heard bad things, or when I was nervous, but once I started really doing this purposely, rather than trying to block everything, I've learned to be a better actress. I hear awful, disturbing things all the time. It wouldn't be productive of me to freak out all the time, and really, not much shocks me anymore."

"It must be hard," Mark said compassionately.

"It's just life," I said and shrugged my shoulders.

Our food arrived and it took all my strength not to start drooling on myself. I had a big, blackened ribeye steak with a loaded baked potato and a heaping pile of steamed vegetables. It was like Christmas.

"When we're done we have one more thing to do. If anyone asks, it didn't happen. Do you understand?" Mark asked.

"That depends," I said suspiciously. Mark laughed at me.

"It's something good. Don't worry. It just can't be something that ever gets mentioned again," Marks said. I slowly nodded my head.

"My half-brother, Peter, owns a Tae Kwan Do studio. He's going to give you some self defense lessons," Mark said and my eyes started watering. I looked down. I was starting to get irritated with how emotional I'd been the last couple of days.

"Self-defense classes?" I repeated.

"Eric suggested that it might be a good idea for you. I don't know how you are mixed up with the vampires, and honestly, I don't want to know. A girl like you, surrounded by vamp's…you should at least know some basics," he said.

"That would be real nice," I said quietly.

We finished our meals in a comfortable silence. I wasn't able to eat my entire meal, so my leftovers were boxed up for me to take back for my dinner. I could practically feel the nutrients recharging my body. I thanked Mark repeatedly, but he just told me to thank Eric. I was really going to owe Eric by the time I left. I already officially owed Eric a favor. I was surprised that he hadn't mentioned anything about it yet. I wasn't sure what good a favor would do when I pretty much had to do anything he said anyway.

Peter looked so much like Mark, they could have been twins. The playful banter between them made me smile, but also made me miss Jason. The self-defense class with Peter was great. He spent three hours with me, teaching me basic defense moves, and tricks for defending myself against Supes. Peter was also a Werewolf, so he was great to practice with and he really knew what he was doing. He also gave me things to practice when I was alone, as well as a general exercise plan. My room at the Palace did not have security cameras or anything, so I would actually be able to practice the things he suggested. He also gave me basic exercises to do to increase my strength. I didn't get a whole lot of exercise as a prisoner, so his ideas of running in place and simple things like push-ups and sit-ups would now be part of my daily routine. It also gave me something to do, which would be great considering how bored I sometimes got.

"You did great today, Sookie. You're a natural. Just remember the things we talked about, and to practice. Best of luck to you," Peter said as Mark and I headed out the door.

"Thank you so much for your help," I said and I gave him a quick hug, despite the fact we were all sweaty.

Peter nodded and waved us off to the car. As we drove away, his face became forlorn, and I could hear from his mind that he was worried for me. At least he'd given me a little something to take care of myself. Even the little exercise plan he'd developed for me would improve my life. I'd take what good I could from my situation.

When we returned to Eric's house, it was merely half an hour before dark. Mark walked me to my room and then locked the door behind me. I took a long hot shower, thankful for the nice heat on my sore muscles. I wasn't used to that kind of physical activity.

Eric knocked on the door just as I was pulling up my pants. I gasped and turned around quickly as he opened the door. I could hear him chuckling as I put on my bra and then pulled on my shirt.

"You have no need to be embarrassed, Sookie. You have the most beautiful breasts I've ever seen," Eric said in a playful, lustful voice.

Without realizing he'd moved from the doorway, I suddenly felt his breath on my neck. He ran his nose up my neck, and then lightly licked my pulse point before sucking on my throat. I couldn't help the needy moan that escaped my throat.

"Yield to me, Sookie," he said in a husky voice.

"No," I said. It took every ounce of energy I had to pull away from him. Eric looked me up and down, making me feel naked again. "One day you will yield to me," he said.

"Not while I am a prisoner," I said.

"I would never force a woman. Most women would think you lucky to have the opportunity to be with me," he said.

"I'm not most women," I said. "But I won't sleep with you while I remain a prisoner. It would make me feel like I condone y'all keeping me here against my will," I explained.

"I have no choice in keeping you prisoner," Eric said. "I am not autonomous. I must answer to my Queen," Eric said.

"I know, Eric, and I don't blame you, but I just can't. I don't want to end up being another fangbanger," I said.

"You are not. You are not desperate or pathetic like them. You do not throw yourself at us," he said, as though it was as simple as all that.

"I know Eric, but if I sleep with you, what will the other vampires expect from me? I know I'm attracted to you, and now that you can feel my emotions, I know you can feel that, but I can't sleep with you, Eric. Not like this. Not when _this_ is my life. Surely you can understand that?" I asked.

"I understand," he said. He pulled me into his arms and held me close.

"I'm sorry I cried on you last night," I mumbled into his shoulder. "Thank you. I don't very often get emotional, and you've seen me cry twice in the last couple of days."

"I don't mind holding you while you cry. I just don't like to see your tears," he said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Isn't it a little silly that a thousand year old vampire is scared of a few tears?" I snickered. His chest vibrated with his laughs.

"I'm not afraid of a crying woman," he said, still laughing.

"We'll just have to agree to disagree on that," I said, smirking.

"I still owe you a favor for calling Alcide's family. I guess I owe you another favor now too for last night...and another for my lessons today," I said.

"First of all, you only owe me the one favor, as we agreed upon. Secondly, what happened last night and today will not be mentioned again, as they _did not happen_. As for payment of your favor, I have no need for you to do anything for me now. I may have need for your service in the future," he said and I could see something in his eyes that said he had plans.

"You can pretty much order me to do anything anyway since I am the Queen's prisoner," I said shrugging. Eric looked bothered again.

"When I ask for a favor from you, it will not be a simple use of your telepathy. It will be something that only you can do," he explained, and then when he saw my face, he continued. "Don't worry about it now. When the time comes, I will let you know. Besides, I think that you would assist me in the matter whether you owed me or not."

Well, that wasn't cryptic or anything.

I looked up at his deep blue eyes and lost myself for a moment. He leaned down and his lips captured mine in the most mind-blowing kiss I'd ever had. I would have guessed that after a thousand years of practice, he would have learned a thing or two, but…damn! I pulled away from him as soon as my mind caught up with what was happening, but he continued to kiss down my neck. I moaned ridiculously loud as his fangs scraped my throat just enough for me to feel it.

"Someday you will yield to me and I will show you pleasure like you have never known," Eric whispered in my ear. Then he let me go and walked out of the room like nothing had happened. The man surely knew how to make an exit. I was a quivering mess. I went back into the bathroom to fix myself.

The ride to Fangtasia was very tension filled, but at least it was a fun tension. It was carefree and I was happy. We laughed and flirted and enjoyed each other's company. The ride was over much too soon and we had to get back to work again. Eric seemed as disappointed about that as I did, but he was the one in charge so it's not like he could skip out on his responsibilities.

Tonight the area vampires were scheduled to come in to familiarize themselves with Eric's new area headquarters and to bring their pets for me to listen to. The construction of the building had ceased for the night, for the meeting. It was interesting to see Eric with the other vampires. Pam came to stand with me/protect me while Eric mingled. It was interesting for me to see how the hierarchy worked here compared to New Orleans.

"He is a good leader," Pam said beside me. I'd been watching so intently, I'd forgotten she was standing there.

"He seems to be well respected," I responded.

"He treats us well. He is fair," Pam said.

"I can see that in how the others interact with him," I said as we watched him talking to one of the area vamps. "He is respectful, and they are respectful in return. He has an air of leadership about him, but he is friendly and jokes at the same time. It's different from what I'm used to."

"How is it different?" Pam asked.

I lowered my voice as much as I could. It was good that we were at the far edge of the room, away from the rest of the vampires. "The Queen rules by fear and intimidation. Her subjects are afraid of her. She lashes out. She is impulsive and cruel," I explained and then I couldn't go on.

It was unwise of me to say these things out loud anyway. I knew that Pam was trustworthy. She still didn't like me much, but I think I was growing on her. Besides, she was loyal to Eric above all, and I trusted him. It was still dangerous to say these things in a room of vampires with better senses and therefore better hearing than I have. I spoke to low for anyone to hear, but still, it was better to keep silent.

"Eric is a good master," Pam repeated her earlier sentiment.

Eric turned to Pam and nodded his head, indicating that they were ready for the meeting to begin. A curtain had been hung to separate a small area from the larger area of the bar. I took charge of the human pets – it was still a little strange to think of them as such, but I was growing used to the idea – and I led them to the curtained-off area. There were twenty humans to interview. There was a small stereo which I turned on and then took the men and women one at a time for their interviews. It was the typical questions: how are you treated, what do you do for money, what do you know of the vampire hierarchy, and are they there of their own free will?

The last was a new question that Eric had added to the usual lineup. With the Reveal coming up in two months, it had been decided that the humans could still be glamored, but there were limitations. It was no longer allowed to have pets if that was not what they wanted, and Eric wanted that enforced. No, I didn't miss the irony in that. I wondered if the Queen would add a question like that for the humans in the Palace as well, at least after the reveal. I wasn't sure that would happen, unless, there would be others watching. Eric had explained the idea of the AVL, the American Vampire League. The AVL would be the middle men, a kind of Vampire PR combined with a Vampire's Rights group.

I found one of the human pets that was abused and considering staking his master, and one that had been given from one vampire to another. She was abused and terrified of her new owner. Other than those two, there wasn't much to report. Fifteen of the twenty had been significantly glamored, and had Swiss cheese for brains. One had been glamored in such a way that he wasn't even sure that the vampires were in fact vampires. He was very confused as to what was real and what was role play. I tried to stay out of his mind as his mind wandered to his bedroom activities. I'd seen a lot of things and a lot of fetishes over the years, but he was pretty far out there with his sexual preferences.

I was relieved when Eric told me that we were done. I reported what I found and Eric kept three vampires behind, and the two humans that were being abused. Two were the ones that were abusing their pets and the third was the one that had given his pet to the other vampire.

I was able to see more vampire justice. Lucky me. I expected it to change my perception of Eric, seeing him that way, but surprisingly it didn't. I had come to respect that other species dealt with things in their own way. Vampires seemed most affected by monetary punishment and physical punishment, which could be quite severe since they healed so quickly. The three vampires being punished had their hands broken, a symbolic gesture for their crime, and were all to be wrapped in silver for three days. They were also to stay away from their now-former pets. If they contacted their former pets or abused any humans in the next year, they would be punished by the loss of their fangs. There wasn't a much more effective threat to a vampire than the threat to their fangs.

It was mesmerizing to me watching Eric dole out punishment. He was quick to anger and severe in his treatment of them. He commanded respect. I was getting turned on by the whole thing, which was…just wrong in so many ways. Pam smelled my arousal and smirked at me. I was mortified. That's what you get for working with vampires.

As we were finally leaving the building, Eric got a call on his phone.

"Good evening, your highness," Eric answered. Nothing good could come from this. Eric's jaw clenched confirming this.

"Of course, my Queen. When do you need her?" Pam and I both watched Eric as he listened. She could probably even hear what was being said.

"It has only been three days. You gave me one week," Eric said curtly. His voice was void of emotion, but his face was full of fury.

"Of course, your highness. She will be there," he finished.

He slowly turned to me and his eyes looked almost desperate before becoming void of emotion again. He was good with his mask most of the time.

"The Queen is summoning you early. We will be going directly to the airport," he said.

I had gotten that from his side of the conversation, but hearing it spoken aloud, my stomach dropped. I knew then that I had gotten too comfortable there. It was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped.

"I'm flying back to New Orleans?" I asked, shocking myself with how cold and emotionless my voice sounded, which contrasted with the emotions bubbling up inside of me.

"No, you are going to Mississippi," Eric said, gently. He looked at me with a worried face, glancing nervously at Pam, who was looking much the same.

I nodded to let him know that I heard him and without waiting for him, I got into the car. I closed my eyes and took back control of my spiraling emotions. No good would come from feeling scared or angry. An empty numbness would better suit me now.

"Conditions for palace employees should improve with the Revelation. Representatives of the American Vampire League are planning visits to make sure that all employees are paid, have reasonable living conditions, and are there willingly," Eric said.

"No Eric, they won't even know that I'm there. That's the point of the Queen's new construction project," I said.

"You haven't heard about it?" I asked after seeing their blank looks.

"No," Eric and Pam replied at the same time, glancing at each other with confused and worried looks.

"She's had secret passages and secret rooms built for me to use for my observations. They've built them next to the conference rooms and the rooms where the fangbangers gather. They have two-way mirrors so I can see them, but they can't see me. They won't even know that I'm there. Nobody will ever know that I exist."

"Do you know anything else about why I'm going to Mississippi?" I asked.

"No," Eric said. Again he and Pam exchanged glances and seemed to communicate in that way that Makers and their children are able to.

Finally, Eric spoke to Pam in another language. After a moment, she nodded. She turned in her seat and pierced her finger with her fang.

"You will take a drop of my blood. The queen will not go into Mississippi, and Eric may not be able to go if you get into trouble. You will take my blood and I will be able to track you," Pam said.

I knew it was no use to refuse her, especially with that expression on her face, so I nodded and as quickly as possible, I licked her bloody finger awkwardly. First of all, I'm human and consuming blood is not something that comes naturally to me, nor do I want it to. Secondly, licking the finger of another person is just an awkward thing to have to do. Thirdly, vampires get off on that kind of thing, and with how she'd been flirting with me the past couple of days, well, she looked like she enjoyed it a little too much. At least it was only a couple drops worth of blood.

That was another thing added to the list of things I never thought I would say.

"Kind of ironic that I, the human, have tasted both of your bloods, but you have yet to taste mine," I mused, though technically Eric had tasted mine when he was cleaning my injuries after leaving the palace.

Pam looked like a deer caught in headlights, she was so shocked. Eric looked the same until he finally threw his head back and roared in laughter. It feels kind of empowering being able to shock a couple vampires like that.

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Thanks for reading! Also, I am looking for someone to make a banner for this story, so if you are interested, let me know! Thanks!


	9. Into the Lion's Den

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for editing. You are a life saver!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I appreciate hearing what you think!

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**Chapter 9 – Into the Lion's Den  
**

The Queen had arranged for a Were-tiger guard to accompany me to Mississippi (which seemed to almost enrage Eric), since it was too close to dawn for a vampire to accompany me. There was also the small issue of the vampires not being able to invade another vampire's territory, without revealing why they were there. Instead I was being sent undercover, and if I was revealed…well…I was just collateral damage.

It was a strange contradiction. I was a valuable asset, but at the same time, collateral damage if I should die. None of it made sense to me, but I guess that with enough power and enough of a superiority complex, the Queen could be as contradictory as she pleased.

We were flying on the Queen's private jet, so we were able to avoid the normal hassle of security and flight delays of commercial airlines. The only other times I had flown were when I was a prisoner of the US government, and then I'd flown in shackles. They were very uncomfortable and embarrassing experiences. The Queen's jet on the other hand was plush. It was stocked with human food as well as promotional bottles of synthetic blood. There were places in the back of the plane for coffins, when transporting vampires during the day. I was a little surprised about that, though I guess vampires have to travel sometimes too, and it would be inconvenient if you could only travel during the night. After the Great Revelation it would probably become more commonplace as well.

It was really weird to think about Vampires existing out in the open. I wondered how others would handle it. Would there be a mass panic? There was the whole Goth group that would probably be tripping over themselves to get near vampires. Many would probably want to be turned. The religious fanatics would have a field day with the news. It was a big risk they were taking, revealing themselves, but I understood wanting to be yourself, not having to hide.

"So, you're the Queen's new pet," Quinn said, with a smile on his face. It wasn't a nice smile. He was bitter and resentful that he had to babysit me and that he was still in debt to the Queen.

"Something like that," I responded in a dry tone. I used to be overly nice, which generally was to my detriment. I've learned a lot about life since then, and one of those lessons was to not bother trying to win over someone that was so resentful of me. It would get me nowhere.

John Quinn was an interesting person. He was very attractive (and he knew it), but I did not like hearing his thoughts. His thoughts were not _easy_ to hear, but shifters and Weres in general were getting easier for me to read. Perhaps it would have been better had he known beforehand that I was a telepath. He had no idea what I could do, or what qualified me as being the one to go undercover with him. He knew I wasn't a shifter and was leaning toward the idea of me being a witch.

There was a reason that I never dated until Alcide. Actually, even Alcide was tough to be with; I could never truly let my guard down because I didn't want to know what he was thinking while we were in the heat of the moment. I tried dating in high school, thinking that with enough willpower, I could just ignore my date's thoughts. It didn't work. Trust me when I say that you don't want to know what a man is thinking about you at all times. You don't want to know, through his private, uncensored thoughts that he thinks you're too fat, or is wishing you were your best friend, Tara, or that he is wishing you were _his_ best friend, Josh. You don't want to know when he's wishing that you'd just put out, or that he wishes you talked less, or is hoping that you don't mind taking it in the ass, or fantasizes about strangling you as he orgasms. You don't want to know these things…except maybe for safety reasons…and neither do I.

Now, John Quinn was not very easy to read for the most part…_except_ when he started fantasizing about me, then it was like he was talking directly to me. '_Oh babe, your lips would look so nice wrapped around my cock…You look sturdy enough to really pound into…If only you weren't one of the vampire whores…'_

The last one was the one that really got me. He had no idea what I was to the Queen, but he should have a clue. I obviously wasn't there of my own free will, since he was the one that gave me the warnings of what would happen if I tried to escape. What would make him think that I was a typical fangbanging whore at the same time? Double standards buddy? It's not like he had a choice to be here either. I understood that about his position. I understood that he had no choice to be there, and that he would stop me from escaping if it came down to it, and it wouldn't be anything personal. Any chance that I might be even more helpless than him? It's not like I even had the advantage of turning into a formidable Bengal tiger if I got in trouble. Ugh…just thinking about it started me fuming again.

"Can you tell me more about what we're going to be doing once we get to Mississippi?" I asked. "I'd like to have an idea of what to prepare myself for."

"Bill Compton has been summoned by his maker, which would be no big deal except that he has been working on a special project for the Queen. Nobody has heard from him in 48 hours, and Lorena is known as being a sadistic bitch, so…it will probably take some doing to get him out of Mississippi," Quinn explained.

I shook my head. This was just stupid. "As his maker, doesn't she have the right to summon him at any time, regardless of the project he's working on for the Queen? His duty to his maker trumps the fealty he pledged to the Queen, right?" I asked. I'd never exactly had it explained to me, but I'd picked up a lot on how things worked in the Vampire hierarchy.

"Yes. That's why the Vamp's aren't getting involved with recovering him. Lorena has full rights to do with Bill as she pleases. The rumor, going around the Were community, is that the King of Mississippi wants to steal the project that Bill was working on for the state of Louisiana, and called in Lorena so that she could call Bill and force him to hand it over. Sophie Anne isn't upset that Lorena has Bill, but she's spitting mad that they are trying to steal from her. Whatever it is that he's been working on has huge monetary potential, and the King of Mississippi is trying to take it in a really back-handed way," Quinn explained.

"What exactly are we going to do?" I asked.

"We're going to go around the Supe community, Babe, and we're going to try to figure out where Bill is. There was a large nest in Jackson where Bill was staying. He was taken from there during the day, so it was either one of the vamp's day men or a Were. There was a bit of an uproar about a vamp going missing during the day," he said, smiling a little at the thought of the vampires' panic.

"So what is it that makes the Queen think that _you _will be useful in finding this vamp, Babe?" he asked. I got a flash of his mind showing me visually exactly how he'd like me to be useful. It was like he was trying to play a porno for me in his mind. The images were shouting at me, demanding that I see them. Ugh.

"I'm a telepath," I said in a cold voice, and it was like I'd thrown ice water on him. His face drained of color, and his thoughts suddenly starting repeating, '_Oh, shit_,' over and over.

"I'm sorry," he said, too embarrassed to say anything more. He should be embarrassed!

"Yeah," I said dryly, not exactly accepting the apology, but wanting to get past the whole awkward mess. "So what happens if I get caught?" I asked.

"They'll either kill you, or if they figure out what you can do, you'll probably become the pet of King Edgington," he stated, somewhat mournfully. It seemed he actually felt bad now for the predicament I was in.

"Lovely," I said, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"I'll do my best to keep you safe," he reassured me. I could feel the plane start its decent.

"Where are we going to start?" I asked.

"We'll start by checking into a hotel and getting some sleep. Then this evening, before dark, we'll head out to the clubs and underground hangouts. If we don't find anything by that time, once it's full dark, we'll head over to Josephine's which is a club that King Edgington owns. It wasn't getting enough business when it was exclusive to vampires, but now that he's expanded the clientele to include all Supes, it's a pretty good place to hang out, with a variety of people. If we can get there right after full dark, you could read the vamps that come in and we should be able to find Bill quickly," Quinn said.

"I can't read vampires," I said quickly.

"Oh, well that complicates things. Hopefully we'll find some information so we don't have to go there. I don't like venturing directly into the lions' den," he said and then snorted like he'd thought of an inside joke. He shook his head at me when I raised my eyebrows in question. Once he'd heard I was a telepath, he started blocking his mind to me. I hadn't met someone that could so quickly block me. It was a relief, though it made me a little suspicious. What can I say? I had become both a skeptic and a cynic.

The plane landed with a jolt, and my stomach dropped. I'd known we would be landing soon, but I hadn't realized how close we were, or I would have better prepared myself for the landing. Flying was not really my thing. There was a rental car waiting for us when we deplaned. Quinn was a pretty big guy, muscular that is, so he had a hard time fitting behind the wheel. He looked rather uncomfortable, and I tried not to feel happy about that fact. Had I really gotten that petty?

The hotel was average. Not sleazy or anything, but nothing fancy by any means. I was just happy that it was nice and clean. Quinn was not allowed to let me out of his sight, so we had to share a hotel room. I emphasized to the front desk attendant several times that we needed two beds. Quinn looked irritated with me. I don't think it was so much that I requested two beds. I think it was more the fact that I kept emphasizing that we were not together. I didn't really care what he thought. I wasn't thrilled about having to share a room, but it could have been worse. There were two double beds, so at least we had separate places to sleep.

Quinn had brought along a small suitcase with clothes for me, which were actually mine. It made me feel more like myself, having my own clothes as a type of armor against the things being forced upon me. I was pleased to find some sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in. It was modest, not at all alluring (which Quinn had been hoping for) and wonderfully comfortable.

The bed was nothing special, especially after the nice, soft bed at Eric's, but since I'd been awake for nearly 24 hours, I fell asleep in minutes.

000ooo000

"So what should I wear tonight?" I asked, as I riffled through my suitcase.

Quinn looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "We're going to be going to a mix of venues tonight, but nothing too fancy. It's not like we're going out clubbing.," he said slowly as he considered it. "How about jeans and a nice shirt? Casual but still on the nicer side of casual," he suggested.

I appreciate it when people give you a clue as to what is appropriate when you haven't been somewhere before. I can't stand it when they say, 'Anything would be fine.' That's just irritating.

I found a pair of nice fitting, extra dark jeans. They were actually starting to get a little loose on me, but they still showed off my figure nicely. I found a nice wrap blouse in a cranberry red color that helped dress it up a little.

Quinn gulped when I walked out of the bathroom. I was pleased with his response. His thoughts indicated that he thought I cleaned up real good, but he was very conscious of keeping his thoughts clean for me. I appreciated the effort.

"Wow, Sookie. You look great," he said in a low, husky voice.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I responded. I was being truthful. He was dressed very simply in a pair of great jeans that really showed off his nice ass (not that I was looking), and a black t-shirt that was a little on the tight side, but very pleasant on the eyes. It showed off his impressive physique without being overdone. He cleaned up pretty good too.

I sat down on the bed, and then Quinn frowned at me when he saw that I was about to put on some heels.

"What?" I asked, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice but not quite succeeding.

"Where we're going, you should wear comfortable shoes. Something you could run in if you needed to," he explained.

I was instantly wary. "Should I _expect_ to spend part of the evening fleeing the bad guys?" I asked.

"No…" he said, "…but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. We're not going to spend all night completely slumming it, but some of the places we may go are a little…rough around the edges," he said.

"I'm kind of used to 'rough around the edges', surrounded by vampires and all," I said as I rolled my eyes. I was used to having to be tough, but I didn't want to have to think about that now. I did as he asked though, and put on my tennis shoes.

"Where to first?" I asked.

"First we're going to dinner," he said. "At the airport Northman told me to make sure you ate well, since there was an…incident…or something at the palace," he mumbled. He looked uncomfortable.

I remembered Eric pulling him aside for a moment before Quinn and I boarded the plane. Eric had looked rather threatening, though Quinn hadn't seemed all that intimidated. I tried to figure out why Quinn was looking so embarrassed and when I looked into his mind, he was going through possible scenarios in which I might have lost so much blood. Most involved me being in the Queen's bed with many others. He wasn't easy to read, actually I think he was trying to block me, but I still wished at times like these, that I was not a telepath.

"Dinner sounds good," I said, ignoring the rest of whatever he was implying.

Quinn and I walked out to the car, and spent some time in uncomfortable silence as we drove to the restaurant. He pulled into the parking lot of a French restaurant, _B__istro de la Pleine__ Lune_, which Quinn explained meant _Full Moon Bistro_. It was a gorgeous little restaurant, painted white, and it had a very homey yet fancy feel. I wasn't sure if we were quite dressed up enough for the place, but I was happy to be there.

There was an outdoor seating area surrounded by a white wood lattice fence covered in climbing Jasmine, and accented with little white Christmas lights, which made it seem all the more elegant. Jasmine was one of my favorite flowers and the scent was divine. To my surprise, we had reservations and were quickly shown to a table. A lot of the people in the restaurant looked like they recognized Quinn, but they were polite enough to try to appear that they weren't staring.

The restaurant had a very fancy décor, but I looked around and the dress was more casual that the décor would have implied. I was finally grateful for the etiquette lessons the Queen had arranged toward the beginning of my imprisonment, before she had decided that I was best left hidden in the background. This was the first time I would have the opportunity to use that knowledge. I'd grown up in a home with little money to spare, so though I'd been taught impeccable manners by my Gran, I'd never had the occasion to need to know which fork was used for what food. We'd never really done fancy back home.

I opened my mind to survey the people around us and found that a lot, maybe half, of the clientele and most of the staff were two-natured.

"What is it?" Quinn asked, noticing the astonished look on my face.

"Most of the people here, including the staff are two-natured," I said.

"This restaurant is owned by a were-coyote," Quinn explained. "To most humans, the outside of this restaurant looks like a rundown bar. The place even smells bad to them," he laughed.

"Really? How is that possible?" I asked. I had been so impressed as we'd driven up to the restaurant, it was hard to believe that it looked different to other people.

"It's a spell. It's actually quite common with businesses for the Supernatural community, the ones that want mostly Supe business anyway. The humans that are here are most likely witches, or have some kind of connection to the supernatural community," he said.

"I haven't really seen what witches can do," I said. "I've met a couple, but I have no idea how any of it actually works. I guess it shouldn't surprise me."

"If you ask me, witches are usually more trouble than they're worth, but they can be useful too," he said. I didn't like the way he put that. 'Useful'. I keep being told that Telepath's are 'useful' as well. I hoped that witches weren't treated like I was, though at least witches had more power at their disposal. I wondered if that was something that could be taught, or if it was something that witches were born with. I decided that I would need to do some investigation into that. If it could be taught…and maybe my telepathy would give me an advantage with magic…or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

I realized that while I was thinking, Quinn had continued speaking. "You got the human menu, but there are also other menus available. There is a menu for two-natured predators, a menu for two-natured herbivores, there is even a limited menu available for vampires though they don't often come in here."

"I like that," I said. It was nice that they catered to all sorts of people. To quote Dr. Seuss, 'A person's a person, no matter how small.'

We made pleasant small talk over dinner, and it became less uncomfortable. It turned out that Quinn was pretty easy to talk to. The food was delicious. Quinn's meal was weird, mostly a lot of raw or extra rare meat, but he seemed to like it.

Eventually we made our way to our first destination. It was an industrial warehouse, in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of a big forested area. There were a couple dozen pickup trucks in the parking lot. The faint sound of cheering and an occasional growl could be heard from inside.

I looked over at Quinn, trying to figure out what was going on here.

"This is an underground fighting ring. It's brutal, so don't be surprised," Quinn said. "Do your best to stay in the background. People are going to recognize me, so don't be nervous about that. Be polite, but not too polite….just try to stay unnoticed…and try not to look too uncomfortable," he said.

"Fighting?" I asked. I couldn't see how an underground boxing ring would be a place that we might find out about a vampire being tortured by his maker, but I trusted Quinn…kind of.

"Stay close," he warned one last time before knocking on the big metal door of the warehouse.

The door groaned as it was pushed open. A big burly biker type was guarding the door. He recognized Quinn instantly and was practically tripping over himself telling us to come on in. I knew he'd said people would recognize him, but this was a little much.

"Are you fighting tonight?" the bouncer asked.

Quinn laughed, "No. You know I don't do that anymore. I got out when I could."

"That's too bad, Quinn. I've never seen you fight, but I've heard it was amazing," he said. It was kind of funny seeing such a tough biker with a bad case of celebrity worship.

We eventually made it out to the actual fight. The place was dark and dingy, but in the center of the room was a huge ring, three or four times the size of a boxing ring. The ring was surrounded by a wire cage of sorts. There were dozens of people cheering, boozing, and making bets. In the center of the ring were two werewolves, one grey and one more of a reddish color, snarling and bloody from the fight. It looked like they had been fighting for a while, and while both were pretty beat up, the grey wolf was obviously gaining the upper hand. Just as we got up to the cage, the grey wolf managed to leap on top of the other wolf knocking him down. So quick I almost missed it, he clamped down on the exposed throat of the red wolf and tore the flesh of the neck away from the body. The crowd roared as the body of the wolf fell to the ground as his blood pooled beneath him. I watched horrified as the wolf's body changed back to his human form. The other wolf changed back with considerable effort, which I assumed was due to his injuries. That would definitely be his last fight for the night, but from the scars that covered his body, he appeared to be a regular.

Quinn bumped me lightly with his elbow, and I almost jumped out of my skin. I realized that I probably looked as horrified as I felt, so I quickly schooled my face. He could have warned me about what we would be seeing a little better than he had.

Quinn led me away from the scene, which they had already started cleaning up, and we mingled with people. I listened in as he caught up with friends and talked to his fans. I stood to the side and tried to look like the dumb blond that many assumed I was.

I listened in as much as I could, but I didn't hear anything useful. Quinn artfully brought up the vampires, inquiring about employment with King Edgington, who many of the Weres were employed by, and asked about the local gossip. They say that women gossip, but I know for a fact that most men like their gossip just as much, if not more, than the women, except that they were usually more crude about it.

I was a little surprised to hear that Quinn used to do those fights. 'The Pits' was what they called it. I wasn't exactly sure what was different from the place where we were, but it seemed that the fighting Quinn did was more big-league than this warehouse fighting ring. Everyone kept asking when he was going to fight again, and Quinn artfully avoided answering those questions, though I would catch an occasional glimpse of disgust so brief, I wondered if I was imagining it.

We watched one more fight while we continued to make our way around the room. I never heard anything helpful but I did get a front row seat to a second wolf being mauled within inches of his life by a brown bear. At least the bear stopped before laying the final blow, which actually upset the rest of the audience. Evidently it was more honorable to just kill the animal, because he would now be ostracized from his pack for losing the fight to the bear.

I wondered if things like that ever happened with Alcide's pack. He'd never talked about anything remotely related, so I had to wonder if he was just protecting me from the realities, or if his pack didn't do that kind of thing. I hoped the latter was true.

Finally, Quinn started leading us toward the door. I was more than relieved.

"Thanks for warning me before we got here," I said curtly as we closed the truck doors.

Quinn looked chagrined. "Would a warning have made it easier to see?" he asked looking straight ahead.

"I don't like walking into anything blind. You could have warned me," I said in a detached voice. Watching violence was always emotionally draining. That didn't change, the more violence I watched. It hurt…my spirit to watch these things, to watch people being so ugly to each other.

"I didn't like being there any more than you. I don't want to go back into a place like that and watch…that. I am doing this so that we can find Bill and get the hell out of this state. Did you hear anything important?" he asked, his voice hard.

"Not a thing," I said wearily.

The sun had fallen while we were inside and it was now full dark. Quinn started up the truck and pulled onto the main road back toward where we came.

"I was planning on heading over to the King's club, but since the others were saying that there is a big fight tonight, we're going to make an appearance there. There will be a lot more vamps there, so hopefully we'll be in a better place for you to hear something related to Bill," Quinn said as we drove along the freeway.

"Why are there going to be vamps at this one?" I asked, curious.

"They run _this_ fighting ring," he said, and there was a cold, bitter edge to his voice.

"Do the vamps fight too?" I asked and Quinn laughed.

"No, they don't fight as a general rule. There have been a couple cases of vamps being punished by being thrown in The Pits, but as a general rule, no. This is their entertainment. They bet on the fights and make a lot of money." Quinn hesitated before continuing.

"My mother is mentally ill and some vamps cleaned up a mess she made, so in return for keeping her out of trouble and not killing her outright, I owed the vamps. They had me fight in The Pits. They pay a lot of money to see the fights between the rarer were-animals, so they were very happy to have me there. I made a lot of people a lot of money. I was stuck there for years. Fighting so that they could make their money. Fighting so that they could be entertained," Quinn trailed off, the bitterness thick in his voice before he steeled himself once again. Evidently sharing time was over.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," I said quietly. I couldn't imagine having to fight others to the death because of a debt owed. Although, once I thought about it, I sent people to their deaths as well, based on their thoughts. At least I had the solace of knowing that they were guilty of whatever they were accused of.

Quinn did not answer me, but kept his eyes on the road. It was only a couple of minutes later that we arrived at our destination.

This fighting ring was disguised as a private country club. There was a small sports arena where the fights were held. It was just like a fancy private sports arena I'd gone to once before in high school…except this one was a place where were-animals fought to the bloody death.

Everyone here was dressed nicer than the last place. They really did treat it more like a sporting event than an underground fighting ring.

We'd been making the rounds, saying hello to all the people Quinn knew, when suddenly a man from behind me grabbed my shoulder roughly. I turned around to face the man quickly and was almost overwhelmed with the smell of stale beer-breath. I could tell from the sound of his brain that he was a shifter of some sort.

"Pretty girl you got, Mighty Quinn," he sneered. His fingernails were digging into my skin.

"Get your hands off my girl, Mike," he growled.

"What you gonna do 'bout it?" he laughed.

Quinn removed his hand from my shoulder and my arm throbbed as the circulation returned. I backed up against a wall, relieved that he'd let me go, but unwilling for anyone else to sneak up behind me.

Quinn seemed to be getting a handle on the situation, until I saw the man's backup arriving. There were six of them. My stomach dropped as two of them came up to me and each took hold of an arm.

A huge dark haired man went up to Quinn. He appeared to be the one in charge. "Quinn, you owe me a fight," he said quietly.

"I don't do that anymore, Dan," Quinn said angrily.

"You do tonight. You accepted the challenge of a fight. We are here tonight in The Pits. It was destiny that we finish our dispute tonight," Dan said. Quinn growled low in his throat.

"If you forfeit the fight, we keep the girl," Dan said. The men that held my arms tightened their grip on me. The one on the right, a dark haired man covered in tattoos and piercings, leaned down to me and licked a line up my neck, but I forced myself not to react.

"Tasty," he murmured. I finally couldn't stop the shiver that ran through me. I could see exactly how tasty he thought I would be, and was imagining them all taking their turns with 'The Mighty Quinn's girl'.

"Fine, I'll fight," he conceded. I could see how much it cost him to say that, and my heart hurt for him.

Dan looked smug and my heart dropped as we all followed him down toward the fighting arena.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	10. The Roar of the Tiger

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for editing. You are a life saver!

**AN: ** I know I kind of dropped off the face of the earth for a while. I have a whole list of excuses, so you can take your pick...migraines, work, family, writer's block... Anyway, I know I suck. I'm sorry to keep you waiting and I hope that my readers will continue to follow me now that I am writing again.

**Quick summary of the story to this point: **Sookie was found out by the US government and taken in as a national security risk, vampires broke her out and now she is a prisoner of the Queen. Eric has told the queen what he thinks of the Queen's treatment of Sookie, but she was not very receptive to his suggestions. Eric had Sookie in Shreveport for a couple days, and had her take a self defense class and is working on a plan. The Queen then called to say Bill was in Mississippi and Sookie was sent there to find him, accompanied by Quinn. Quinn brought her to "The Pits" trying to find information, but was pressured into agreeing to fight. Sookie is being watched by his opponent's men while they fight.

* * *

**Chapter 10 – The Roar of the Tiger**

I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Quinn had agreed to fight, though he truly thought he had no choice. I wondered briefly if there really was no choice, or if it was more of a male/shifter ego thing, but then I felt bad for thinking such a thing. I was pretty sure that Quinn wouldn't have abandoned me unless he had no choice about it.

Mark was in charge of restraining me and it seemed to me that he was enjoying his task a little too much. My shoulder was throbbing where his fingers and fingernails were digging into the skin of my arms. He was making all kinds of plans for what he would do with me once Dan killed Quinn in the ring. I didn't even have to get the information from his head. He came right out and told me exactly what he was imagining. I had to admit that he had quite the graphic and violent imagination, but he was a fool if he thought I was going to just lie down and take it. I would not go down without a fight. I tried to pretend that I would have a chance against a bunch of shifters, for the sake of my sanity. I had consumed vampire blood after all, though not a lot. It would make me stronger than an average human…but not as strong as a shifter. I refused to let myself dwell on the negative.

Mark and the other goons dragged me down to the arena. There was a little cordoned-off area where we were to watch the fight. This was evidently because I was one of the 'prizes' for the fight.

"Russell," Mark said, actually being polite as he acknowledged the vampire king. I looked Russell over. He had an 'in-charge' kind of aura about him. He was dressed in a red-velvet smoking jacket and it took a great deal of will power to keep from laughing. He had two of his human boy-toys hanging on him, and from their demeanors', I could already see that he treated them better than the Queen generally treated her humans, though I had noticed her, on occasion, being quite tender with a couple of her favorite girls.

"Is this the prize?" Russell asked, looking me up and down. I started to answer that no, I was no prize to be won, but Mark tightened his hold on me to the point that I could not help the gasp of pain that escaped. Mark nodded his head in response to Russell's question and then they proceeded to make small talk. Mark worked for Russell in a security capacity so they talked business. I listened, trying to pick up anything that may reveal where, or even _if_, Russell had Bill hidden away.

Every time I tried to speak, I was quickly shut up. When I finally was fed up and about to complain regardless of the pain, Mark slapped his hand over my mouth and told me, "Women should be seen and not heard."

I glared at him, but he kept his hand over my mouth, preventing me from doing or saying anything about it. I was getting rather tired of being treated like a piece of property for so long. I'm not a dog.

Soon, the announcer was on the microphone announcing the fighters. Quinn and Dan were standing on opposite sides of the fighting cage. The sound of the bell ringing made me jump. Mark's grip on my arms tightened and his nails dug further into my skin. I looked down, and his finger nails were starting to look slightly more like claws than human fingernails. A thin trail of blood was running down my left arm from one of the marks. The shouts of the audience brought my attention back to the ring.

Quinn and Dan started circling the ring; they were almost bouncing on their feet like the fights I'd seen Jason watching on TV back when we were kids. The announcer was really trying to pound in the fact that it had been years since Quinn had fought. He kept saying that it was "a momentous event". I felt like both rolling my eyes and crying because of that fact. I hated the fact that Quinn was fighting again. He so obviously did not want to fight anymore.

Quinn and Dan had crouched down and now the fight had a distinct air of _otherness_ to it. I looked closer as Quinn's hands started shifting. He and Dan both got down on all fours and they quickly shifted into their animal forms. It was a cool thing to watch, especially when the orange, black and white fur starting coming out of Quinn's bald scalp as his head and face changed shape into that of his tiger. I'd seen Alcide shift before, but _this_ was a whole new experience. Quinn had become a beautiful Bengal Tiger, with gorgeous black and orange stripes. He was an amazing creature, and I was in awe seeing him so close. It was amazing that this animal was inside of Quinn, if that's what you call it. How can a human man turn into a five to six hundred pound tiger? I knew that the shifters believed that it was magic born into the two-natured that was responsible for the change, inherited magic. I didn't really know if that was true since I really didn't know much of anything about magic, but no matter how you looked at it, it was a really awesome thing to see.

I hadn't had any idea of what kind of shifter Dan was, before he started shifting into his animal form. It turned out that he was a grizzly bear with a beautiful silver-tipped brown coat, truly a beautiful animal, even if he wanted to kill my new friend…and only protector. Once he'd fully shifted, he towered over Quinn's form. If I had to guess, I would say he was at least 8 feet tall, and nearly twice the body weight. They were two amazingly powerful creatures, and I was afraid about who would come out on top. Dan took the first strike, slashing at Quinn's face with his right paw. Quinn easily blocked it and attempted to do the same to Dan, but was blocked. It was an amazing thing to watch and I was ashamed at being so enthralled by their fight, but I was also horrified at the same time. It was one of those things that you don't want to watch but you can't look away. I understood why the vampires enjoyed the fights so much, and that thought sickened me. It was just that when you see an Asian Bengal Tiger fighting a grizzly from the northern US, you can't look away. It's not something you see every day.

They continued to circle and make quick jabs at each other with their claws. Finally, Quinn managed to draw blood on Dan's thigh, and then all hell broke loose. I jumped back in surprise at the brutality. It shouldn't have surprised me to see, after the fights we had witnessed earlier, but it did. They were moving around so fast I was having a hard time following at times. Rather than just taking swipes at each other, they were now in a full out brawl. They were on each other like nothing I'd ever seen. Blood was being spilt, though they were moving so fast that I wasn't entirely sure where they were bleeding from, or even who was the one bleeding. It seemed that they both were, but it was hard to tell.

Quinn hit Dan hard across the gut with one of his legs and threw him across the Pit and into the metal cage that surrounded them. Dan roared in response and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. I realized that the cage must be silver, or at least silver plated. It seemed out of place to be thinking of it at the moment, but I couldn't help but focus on how much that must have cost to install. If the vampires made enough money in the Pits, as it appeared they did, it was probably worth it to them.

Quinn suddenly let out a horrendous roar of pain, and I saw him fall to the ground, blood seeping from a long gaping wound in his abdomen. I thought I saw a glimpse of his intestines, but it was hard to see exactly what was happening. I was so horrified; it was almost like the world had stopped, except for the sound. The crowd was cheering and shouting, booing and hissing and the sound of it echoed in my ears, both loud and far away at the same time.

The announcer was screaming about "the Mighty Quinn" finally meeting his match. I just felt sick and before I realized how affected by the fight I was, my knees gave out. Mark, who was still restraining me, had to hold my weight, but it just made his fingernails/claws dig in deeper. I could feel the warm streams of blood flowing down my arms, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

Quinn was going to die, he was lying there, dying before that crowd at that very moment, and I no longer had someone to protect me. I was going to belong to Dan and his goons. Dan had made it perfectly clear what Quinn's losing would mean for me. I felt guilty to be thinking of myself while Quinn was lying there, eviscerated and dying, but I was terrified about what was going to happen to me. It's not like I could do anything for him anyway.

They started leading me away from the ring. Mark was radiating triumph and was telling his buddies how he couldn't wait to break me in. I looked at the people we'd been standing by but nobody was paying any attention to me or my plight. The King looked like he was upset that Quinn had lost, but it was a matter of money to him. He didn't spare a glance in my direction.

The people around us, of all kinds of species, were betting and cheering, not for a second thinking of what was really happening. A man was dying and nobody cared beyond the value of the bets won or lost. I'd never been more disgusted by people than I was right then. Human, vampire, shifter…I was disgusted by the lot of them…us.

And so, I was dragged away from the arena, away from a plethora of witnesses, with men that were going to abuse and violate me, and not a single soul batted an eye. As a mere human in a crowd of mostly supernaturals, I just simply did not matter to them.

I could feel myself going numb, blocking myself off to what was happening, but then I realized that if I did that, they would do anything they wanted to me, and I wasn't about to let that happen. I hadn't lived through everything I had just to become a disposable toy to these creeps. I wasn't going to just stand there and take it. Using all the strength left in me, I started struggling, and forcing myself to ignore the pain I was already feeling, by reminding myself of the pain to come if I didn't fight hard enough. I kicked and bit and struggled. Just as Mark and two of his friends were pulling me into a small dark room, far away from the crowds of people, I heard a voice I never thought I'd be so happy to hear…though maybe not the words.

"What are you doing with my human?" the Vampire's crisp voice asked, commanding attention from the shifters. Gotta love being someone's property to be passed around, although it should have been a minor concern at that point in time, considering. Why did I keep thinking of these things? There were more important things to worry about.

"This isn't your human," Mark spat. "We won her, fair and square."

"My pet is not yours to be won. She is mine!" the last was emphasized with a growl.

"She was Quinn's woman. Now that he's been defeated, she belongs to us and we are going to _enjoy_ our new toy," Mark said, leering at me.

"Quinn was babysitting my pet for me. She is mine, and if you plan on keeping your hands, you will get your hands off of my human."

"You _were_ Quinn's girl, weren't you?" he said. It was really more of a statement not a question and his hand tightened around my arm so much that I was afraid that he was going to snap the bone. I couldn't help the squeak of pain that escaped. It was embarrassing how _girly_ it made me sound. "Quinn is dead now and the girl is _mine_," he snarled in a way that definitely showed he wasn't entirely human.

"You have drawn blood," the vampire said in a cold voice. Mark, next to me, paled at the tone, and he knew then that I belonged to the vampire and not Quinn. I also knew then that I had truly made an ally in the vampire when I wasn't positive before that I had.

"You belong to the vampire?" one of the other goons asked, incredulously.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

I was pulled away from Mark and the cuts and bruises on my arms were examined quickly before I was pulled in for a kiss. I'd never kissed a woman before, and it was an amazing kiss. I still wasn't interested in women, but I had to admit that Pam was a phenomenal kisser, though she did have a great teacher. That thought alone made me blush and Pam broke the kiss with an amused smile.

"You're always so modest," she laughed. I blushed even more and looked down at my shoes and fidgeted, trying to play up the embarrassed girl act to cover for my real embarrassment of simply kissing a woman. I needed to get out of there, and I didn't want to give the goons any reason to doubt our story.

"Besides, you seem to have declared the winner before the fight was over," Pam said offhandedly. Almost comically, all heads, including mine, turned toward the door of the room, as though we'd be able to see the fight from there. Just as I was about to laugh (a completely inappropriate time and place, mind you, but I was a little giddy with the stress of the evening), we heard a loud roar of a tiger echoing through the empty hallways followed by a wet, gurgling sounding cry of a wounded animal. There were a couple seconds of eerie silence before the crowd burst out in cheers. I could barely hear the triumphant roar of the tiger over the noise of the crowd.

"You are Edgington's wolves?" Pam asked as she stared at Mark's hands, or more specifically, my dried blood under his fingernails.

"Yes," Mark spit out. The fear and anger was radiating off of him.

"I will discuss the payment of your blood debt with Russell" Pam said clearly dismissing him with her words and demeanor. Mark and his goons gave us evil-looking glares as they left us alone. I was relieved to be safe again.

"I thought Quinn was dead," I whispered to Pam. "He was _disemboweled_. How could he survive that?"

"He is seriously injured, but he is a shifter. He will heal. The tiger was lucky this time," Pam said.

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"I got here as soon as I could. I caught a flight here right after sunset. I knew it wouldn't be long until you got yourself into trouble," she mused, very seriously. "Eric would have been very upset if you had been injured."

I hadn't really looked to see where we were before now, and it appeared that we were in an abandoned office. There were boxes stacked up throughout the small room, and a small metal desk and ripped leather chair in one corner. Pam sat me in the chair and looked at me worriedly.

"Are you going into shock?" she asked awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable at asking a human about their well-being.

I shook my head and gave her a small smile. It was the most I could offer her for reassurance right at that moment. We sat quietly as people moved through the hallway outside the office. They were squaring up the bets from Quinn's fight and making bets for the next fight.

"I know where he is," I said abruptly after several minutes of awkward silence.

"He is with the healer. He will live," Pam said. I gave her a questioning look, completely confused.

"Vampires have sensitive hearing. I can hear Quinn howling, while the healer is yelling at him to stay still," she said with a shrug.

I lowered my voice to the point I could barely hear myself. "That's good, but Quinn is not who I was talking about. I overheard Russell Edgington's human boy-toy thinking about Bill being brought onto Russell's estate. He looked like he'd been tortured. He's being kept in the garage behind the house."

Pam looked thoughtful as she mulled over the information I'd given her. After a couple minutes, she abruptly stood and started to leave. I scrambled to my feet and followed, afraid of being left behind. I followed as quickly as I could, trying to keep up. The crowds had thinned considerably since Quinn's fight had ended, though another fight had started. This time it was two wolves. I had to admit that it was rather anticlimactic after seeing a Bengal Tiger and a Grizzly fighting it out.

She led me back to the Pit, and over to the cordoned-off area where I'd been held while we watched the fight. Russell and his minions were no longer there, save one female vampire representative. She was a pretty vampire, rather young both in physical age and in vampire age. You could tell that she had not been a vampire long because she still had many of her human mannerisms.

"I'd like a brief audience with Russell. One of his wolves has committed a blood offense with my human," Pam said coldly. Her face was blank of expression, but there was an undercurrent of anger that I could feel emanating from her, almost like a physical heat.

The female vamp looked very apologetic (another proof of her vampire youthfulness) as she responded, "I'm so sorry, but His Highness has gone home for the evening. You may be able to meet with him briefly if you go to the Manor."

Pam nodded and without any further response, walked away. I nodded at the vampire, and then turned and followed Pam out of the building. She led me to a white minivan and waited until we were in the vehicle before speaking.

"Now we have an invitation to Russell's home and a valid reason for doing so. This is working out just right," Pam said.

"You sound excited," I noted, looking at her with curiosity.

"Of course. I haven't had much excitement lately. You make things much more interesting," Pam said.

"I'm glad to provide you with some entertainment," I said dryly. I certainly wasn't looking forward to more excitement, but I didn't seem to have much choice about it.

* * *

I promise not to leave y'all hanging so long again. Thanks for reading!


	11. Blue Moon

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for editing for me. You have taught me so much!

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Blue Moon**

We pulled up to a gorgeous southern plantation style home. It was straight out of _Gone with the Wind_. It was painted white with big wooden shutters on the windows and great big columns at the front entrance. We had to go through a locked gate, where two shifters were ensuring security of the manor. They let us pass and Pam parked the van in the circular drive in front of the house. I could see someone peaking from behind the blinds, and evidently Pam noticed this as well because she pulled me in for a long kiss. It was a little on the awkward side.

There were two burly looking vampires standing at the door to greet us. Though they were big and muscular thug-type guys, they still set off my gaydar. That fit with my impression of Russell Edgington thus far. They were dressed in spiffy blue uniforms that made them look hot yet threatening at the same time.

"I am here to see His Majesty," Pam said to them in a cold voice. Her face was a stone mask of anger.

"Do you have an appointment?" The blond guard asked.

"I am here to discuss a blood offense committed by one of Russell's wolves," Pam responded. The guards glanced at each other and rolled their eyes, as though this was a common occurrence.

"I don't know why he bothers with them. They are barely housebroken," the vamp with black hair said, looking disgusted. Pam rolled her eyes in agreement.

They radioed someone to let the King know we were there. The black haired vampire stayed at his post and the blond guard led us down a quiet hallway to a little sitting room and we…or rather I…stood awkwardly while we all waited. Vampires rarely looked awkward. The blond guard, with whom God had not been kind in the looks department, looked me up and down like a piece of meat. I was used to this of course. I am a pretty girl. I have long legs, a trim waist, and an ample chest. He, however, was not looking at me with carnal lust, but rather blood lust. He was as pale as a vampire gets and his cheeks were almost sunken. It reminded me of the vampires that the Queen punished by withholding blood. I wondered if that was what was happening with him. Usually if it went for much longer, the Queen would have the vampire in question chained in silver to make sure there were no 'unfortunate incidents'. When a vampire was that starved, it wasn't only the humans that were in danger; it was anything with blood, including other vampires.

I was getting uncomfortably nervous, which unfortunately all the vampires could sense. The vampires continued to stand, but having had a long day I finally got Pam's attention and gave a pointed look at a chair, getting permission like a good little human. It was humiliating, but I knew the rules. With the Queen I was not always as quick to follow the rules, just on principle, but I was away from home and I had Pam to protect me. I wasn't going to endanger either of us if I could help it.

Pam nodded, looking slightly amused I was asking permission to sit. I took a seat and pulled a copy of _People_ from a spread of magazines on the coffee table. I worked on slowing my breathing while I read about the latest Hollywood gossip. I was pleased as punch when the door to the office finally opened. I'd never been a very patient person.

A brunette vampire dressed in an impeccable designer suit came out of the office. "His majesty will see you now," he said in a regal voice. He was rather full of himself, but I was good and said nothing. I simply followed Pam into the office, like a good little human pet.

Russell sat behind a huge desk. He looked much more relaxed than his assistant did. He looked very comfortably regal, in his over-sized office chair. Even if you didn't know he was a king, you would know that he commanded respect. It was kind of surprising, I suppose, he was good looking, but not overly so, and he was rather on the short side, maybe 5'5" at the most. It was more his mannerisms and how he held himself that let you know he was important.

"What can I do for you?" he asked Pam, only giving me a quick, sideways glance.

"Quinn was watching my human this evening while I was conducting business in Jackson. Several werewolves in your employ were trying to use her as a prize to a fight, one in which, by the way, they did not win. They drew her blood with their rough handling," Pam explained and then grabbed my arm and showed my wounds. Russell looked me up and down as she spoke, looking confused.

"She is _your_ human?" he asked.

"Yes," Pam said curtly.

"You did not check in with me upon arrival to my area?" he inquired.

"I was just passing through, and since I brought my own human, I did not need hunting permissions. I was not planning on staying even through the night"

"What business did you have in Mississippi? Why did you not take your human with you?" he asked.

"I was running errands and a human would have slowed me down," she explained.

"So you sent your human out with Quinn to visit the Pits?" he asked.

"She has heard stories about Quinn, so I thought she would enjoy seeing the Pits, and who better a guide?" Pam explained. "Quinn owed my master a favor so when I ran into him after I rose for the night, I called in the favor."

"And what exactly was your business in Mississippi?" he asked again. He'd noticed that she had not answered.

Pam seemed to deflate a little. She paused for a second before finally answering, "We have the responsibility for Bubba right now and he's missing. He's been talking about his childhood a lot lately, so we were hoping that he may have shown up here. I've been going to the usual places he goes, starting with Tupelo, but I've found nothing," she said, scowling a little.

"You should have just come here to my home. He wandered in just after dark this evening," Russell said, shaking his head. "He said that he sensed vampires and thought he should say hello. He made a little side trip to the local humane society. It is no longer a 'no kill shelter'," Russell said with a cheeky smile. I grimaced. It was a little funny in a sick kind of way, but I couldn't help but picture all the dead cats. I'd never met Bubba, but I had heard the stories and I had seen him once from a distance at the Palace. It was my first celebrity sighting. Crazy that my first celebrity sighting was an undead Elvis, huh? It makes for a pretty good story though…if I'd had anyone to tell the story to, that is.

Pam flinched at the new information. "Has the mess already been cleaned up?"

"We had it cleaned up right away. PETA is going to be blamed for this one," he said, flippantly.

I was so surprised that I didn't watch my mouth like I should have. "PETA is going to be blamed for killing a bunch of animals?" I asked.

Both Pam and Russell looked at me, irritated that their food was talking. "No. We cleaned up the physical evidence and they will be blamed for letting all the animals out. We had a harder time getting the shelter employee to forget that he saw the King than getting him to forget the dead cats. He didn't get to all the cats, so we brought a couple back with us, in case he might need a snack later.

"You may take Bubba with you when you go," he said with a pointed look at Pam.

"I can make payment for the trouble, your highness," Pam said, looking very worried. I knew that nothing was done for free in the vampire world. Russell laughed and waved the thought away, and I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't care about payment.

"It was no trouble. He is the responsibility of us all, though I do hope you will keep a closer eye on your charge in the future?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Of course, Russell," she said, her face looking less tense.

"We could consider this payment for the blood offense committed by my employee, as well," Russell suggested. "They would of course make payment to me."

"That seems fair," Pam agreed.

Clean up of a pet massacre in payment for the small scratches and bruises on my arms that amounted to a blood offense. Just part of negotiations.

"I was very careful in asking, but I have gotten our esteemed guest to agree to sing for us. I have a couple of my best boys getting him dolled up. Would you agree to allow us this luxury?" he asked, looking very hopeful. Russell was one of the most expressive vampires I'd seen, although, perhaps that constant state of amusement was part of his mask. His request also answered my question as to why he didn't want us to pay for cleaning up after Bubba.

Pam's eyes lit up, as I was sure mine did. I looked at Pam, pleading with my eyes. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. As much as I wanted to get the hell out of there, I couldn't leave if Bubba was really going to sing.

"As long as he isn't pressured into it," she said, rolling her eyes at my enthusiasm.

"How is your master, Pamela?" Russell said, smiling. He relaxed back into his chair for the first time since we'd walked in the office. Evidently interrogation time was over.

"My master is well. He is anxious for the Great Revelation. He has several financial ventures tied to the reveal, so if all goes to plan, we will be very busy," Pam said.

"We plan on the same here, though we are taking a more indirect approach. The Northman has never been one for doing anything indirect, has he?" Russell laughed.

"No, subtle is not his style," Pam agreed. I could see the tension level in her face was less, though her face was still mostly blank.

"I'll have someone show you to a room where you can freshen up before the show," Russell said. "If you would like, you may stay the night," he offered.

"That would be lovely if it is not an inconvenience to you," Pam said.

"Of course not," Russell replied. He quickly had someone come to show us to our room.

ooo000ooo

Pam had gotten a small travel bag out of the car, in which she luckily had a change of clothes for us both. I'd still had blood on my arms from earlier in the night and I was relieved to get clean again and change into some clean clothes.

"Pam, King Edgington asked you for permission to let Bubba sing. What would he have done if you had said no? I know he is a King but he's not your King, so he can't tell you what to do. Would he have taken 'no' as an answer?" I asked.

"It would have been rude and an insult to deny his request, especially since Bubba has already agreed to sing. He does not agree very often. Would you have preferred me to refuse?" Pam asked with laughter in her eyes.

"Oh, no!" I almost shouted. "I can't believe I get to see him perform. I wouldn't miss it for the world," I gushed. I would just have to worry about rescuing Bill _after_ the show.

That was harsh of me, but although I had figured out exactly where Bill was being held, I knew there was nothing I could do until morning, since I was smack dab in the middle of vampire central. I would need to wait until daytime. Might as well enjoy myself while I could, right? In the back of my mind I did worry that I was becoming callous. He was being tortured. I'd seen it in the mind of the Werewolf that was helping guard him out back. I should care more than I did, shouldn't I? But like I said, there was nothing I could do about it right then.

Pam opened the door to the bedroom and as the deep, rich voice filled the room, it was like being taken back in time.

"_Blue Moon_

_Blue Moon_

_Blue Moon"_

We made our way quickly to the ballroom, entering through a side entrance. It was a pretty low key setup. Bubba was dressed in a white sequin jumpsuit. His hair was styled just like it used to be. The lights were dim and he sat on a small stage set about a foot off the ground, with a microphone and a bar stool, strumming his guitar. His deep voice rang out and it was nothing short of amazing. I'd never seen vampires more expressive and more…human…than listening to Bubba sing. We made our way up to the right side of the stage and I couldn't believe our luck. I might have even squealed a little, but if you ask me later, I will deny it.

He made it through _Blue Moon, Jailhouse Rock, Blue Suede Shoes, Burning Love, _and _Are You Lonesome Tonight_ before the trouble started. He started getting a distant look on his face during the last song, and then when it was over, several vampires toward the front started shouting out requests, and he started getting agitated. The more agitated he got, the more the crowd shouted, not realizing what was happening. I glanced at Pam and she had that same look of dread that I would have guessed was on my face as well.

I wasn't about to sit around and let things get out of control. I could see the panic setting in on Bubba's face, and saw his eyes darting around, as though looking for an escape. I jumped on stage quickly, before the vampires closest to me could stop me. I took the microphone from Bubba, who gave it to me like it was a rabid snake that he'd only just realized he'd been holding onto.

"Thank you for singing for us tonight, Bubba. It was an honor," I said, taking on the roll of announcer. Now, vampires as a general rule…no, a _strict_ rule…are not touchy-feely beings, unless that touching and feeling is of a sexual nature. As I looked at Bubba, he looked like he needed a hug, so I took his hand gently. His wide panicked eyes looked down at our joined hands and I could see him relax a tiny bit. He tightened his grip on my hand until it was painful, but his mental well-being was worth the pain. It wasn't more than I could handle.

"Now, let us sing a quiet song in thanks," I said, addressing the crowd once again. Okay, it was really lame, but I was thinking quickly and it was the first thing my mind came up with.

I couldn't sing to save my life, but I sang the first lines of _Love Me Tender_.

"Love me tender,

Love me sweet,

Never let me go."

Luckily, the audience didn't question it, but picked up the tune right away which was a good thing because I was dying up there trying to stay in tune. I pushed down the abrupt bubble of laughter that wanted to escape. I never thought I'd see a room of fifty vampires singing an Elvis song. It was something that I would never forget and I only wished that I had a video camera. As if Pam was the one that could read minds, I saw her out of the corner of my eye pulling out her fancy cell phone to record the group sing-along. I would _have_ to get a copy later.

I led Bubba away from the stage. I spotted the door to the side of the room Pam and I had entered through, and I led Bubba through that door and into a quiet hallway, letting the door shut behind us.

"Thank you for getting me out of there, Miss Sookie," Bubba said in his familiar drawl.

"How do you know my name?" I blurted out.

"I've seen you before, Miss Sookie. I know 'bout you," he said with his famous crooked smile.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Bubba," I said with a smile.

"It's wrong what they've done to you," he said extremely quietly. He appeared to know that we shouldn't be talking about some things, while on enemy soil.

"I just deal with everything the best I can," I said, firmly.

"That's all we can really do," he responded, nodding his head at me in apparent approval. He wasn't nearly as dim as I had expected from the stories.

Right before my eyes, he seemed to transform, although, from a distance, perhaps, it would have seemed to be nothing. His drawl increased as he spoke much louder than before, "Do you think they have any cats around here? I sure could use a nice warm drink."

My nervous smile filled my face. "I think there are a couple around here somewhere, Bubba," I said.

I jumped as the ballroom door opened again and Pam and Russell came through. Pam gave me a funny look before addressing Bubba.

"It is good to see you are well, Bubba," she said.

"I'm doing just fine, Miss Pam. Miss Sookie here was just going to find me a couple cats," he drawled, with a big, lazy smile on his face.

"Was she now?" Pam said, amused.

I stayed out of the room while Bubba had his snack. I did my best not to think about the poor creatures that were feeding him. I also did my best not to think of my old pet cat, Tina, which I'd gotten after my parent's deaths. I hadn't thought about my cat in a long time, and I didn't want to think about her now as I was thinking about Bubba's dietary preferences.

It was just before dawn when we finally got situated in our room. It was a different room than we'd used earlier in the night. The other one had not been light tight. The room was set up like a hotel room with two queen sized beds. The room was rather cool. Temperature was something that the vampires often didn't think about.

There was a large pine chest at the end of one of the beds. Gran used to have one very similar made of cedar at the foot of her bed that was always filled with homemade afghans. I carefully opened the chest and I had to do a double take. It was like a train wreck. I was so shocked, I couldn't look away.

"Ooh, that looks like fun," Pam said, right behind me. I let out a little scream of surprise and let go of the lid, which slammed shut. I hadn't heard her behind me, and even though it wasn't mine, I was embarrassed by the contents of the chest. I wasn't nearly as naive as I had been just a couple years ago, but finding a huge chest full of sex toys in a guest room I was staying in, was honestly a complete and utter surprise.

Pam laughed at me and I flipped her off. It was actually starting to feel a lot like the relationship I had with my brother.

"I can't believe that is there," I said. My face was still feeling rather hot.

I took another look around the room, which otherwise looked like a southern plantation room, and for the first time noticed several sets of heavy hooks on the walls and ceiling. Pam noticed where I was looking and gestured toward another small wooden box across the room.

"The restraints are over in that box," she said, smirking at me. "Just in case you wanted to know. They want to make sure we have a good time." Pam said. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Now let's go over the plan," she said.

I was to get Bill into the trunk of the car, along with a pack of True Blood from the mini-fridge in our room. (Even though it wasn't officially on the market yet, all the vamps seemed to have a supply.) I would then leave a trail for them to follow, if possible, so that they would think that Bill escaped in the other direction. It was supposed to be a rainy day, thank god, so it may not be necessary or even possible to leave the false trail. I would have our bags and everything packed in the car, so that when Pam and Bubba woke after dark, we could get the hell out of dodge.

Pam and Bubba died for the day and I waited until I could see the sky start to lighten. It was hard to say when it was actually sunrise, since it had already started to rain. I wondered, vaguely how that magic worked, to make the vampires sleep during the day. I rolled up the heavy blanket that we'd found earlier and tucked it under my arm.

I snuck out of the room and I crept quickly into the kitchen. I found a bottle of juice in the refrigerator, which I gulped quickly. I needed the nutrition. I found the junk drawer that every house seems to have, looking for a rubber band for my hair, but I couldn't find anything. As a last resort, I settled on a package of chop sticks from a local Chinese restaurant and used those to pull my hair up into a bun. My hair was nearly down to my butt, and I was in need of hair cut, but the Queen preferred it long.

I finally worked up the nerve and made my way to the back of the house. There were two snarly brains, of shifters in the area, but they were occupied with other tasks. I found a back door and quietly made my way outside, closing the door quietly behind me. I looked around, trying to get my bearings. I found the garage, and then found Pam's rental car, parked with half a dozen others just beyond the garage. Luckily Pam's was close to where I needed it. After a quick search I found an unlocked entrance into the garage building. I moved as quietly as I could, trying to find my way in the nearly complete dark to the side room where I knew Bill was being held. I finally found my way there, and knew I was in the right place immediately, just because of the smell.

There was a small light that had been left on in the torture room. It wasn't much more than a night light, but it was enough light to see what I was doing, so I could do what I needed to and get out of there. Bill was tied to a wooden chair at the center of the room. He was covered in blood and wounds that were not healing. As much as I disliked Bill, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. There were metal tools, hook, clamps, and pincers on a table next to Bill, spread out like a doctor's tools. I had to calm myself for a minute trying to get used to the smell of blood and burnt flesh.

When I got a hold of myself again, I quickly got to work untying Bill. His wrists and ankles were tied to the chair with thin silver chains that was buried deep in his skin. I gagged several times, but I finally got his chains removed.

Bill's eyes opened just a bit, enough to realize something was going on, but he was too weak to really do anything.

"Bill, if you can help, I need to move you into the trunk of the car." He moaned and made pathetic cries of pain, but I had no indication that he had actually understood me.

I wrapped the blanket around him and headed to the closest door. Lucky for me, it was just a regular old dead bolt that I could unlock from the inside without a key. I slowly opened the door and then paused for a moment so that I could get used to the light again. I went to step out, but I suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of my head, and my last thought before losing myself to the dark was, "Oh, shit!"

* * *

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	12. The Great Escape

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you **jdcoke** for editing for me!

**Quick summary of the story to this point: **Sookie was found out by the US government and taken in as a national security risk, vampires broke her out and now she is a prisoner of the Queen. Eric has told the queen what he thinks of the Queen's treatment of Sookie, but she was not very receptive to his suggestions. Eric had Sookie in Shreveport for a couple days, and had her take a self defense class and is working on a plan. The Queen then called to say Bill was in Mississippi and Sookie was sent there to find him, accompanied by Quinn. Quinn brought her to "The Pits" trying to find information, but was pressured into agreeing to fight. Pam luckily came to the rescue, and they ended up at Russell's compound and watched Bubba perform. Now Sookie is trying to free Bill while the vampires sleep for the day, but she was hit over the head before she could get out of there...

* * *

**Chapter 12 – The Great Escape**

I woke up sputtering as water was splashed on my face. My entire head throbbed and ached when I opened my eyes. It was almost overpowering, but if I didn't get past the pain, I knew I would surely die.

"Why are you here?" Russell asked, his voice calm and soothing. I opened my eyes but it was so dark, I could just barely make out his shape.

"I have to get Bill," I said. I couldn't seem to help myself from talking.

"Who do you work for?" he demanded.

"The Queen of Louisiana," I said with no hesitation. Then I continued. "Queen Bitch. Queen of the damned. I hate her…" my voice trailed off almost dreamily.

"Why did they send a human?" he asked.

"I'm a telepath. They sent me to figure out where he was without having to send any vampires into enemy territory," I answered. I was horrified with myself, but I couldn't help but answer truthfully. Was I glamored? I thought I _couldn't_ be glamored. My head swam at the possible implications. I was screwed.

"Then why is Pam here?" he asked.

"She's not supposed to be here," I said. "I think she came to protect me."

"I thought you said they sent you so that they wouldn't have to send vampires," Russell said, clearly having to try hard to remain patient.

"She doesn't know," I said.

"Pam?" he huffed. Russell's grip on my arm tightened in frustration. The pain actually helped clear my head a little, but I still kept talking.

"No, the Queen. The Queen doesn't know she's here. Eric sent Pam," I said. Then I grabbed the front of his shirt with my free hand. I was suddenly feeling panicky. "You can't hurt her. Eric loves Pam. He'd deny it, but he's a good maker to her. I can tell. He's a good vampire."

"There are no good vampires," Russell stated coldly.

I whispered conspiratorially, "I thought so too, but he's a good one."

"Why do you work for the Queen if you hate her?" he asked.

"I have to," I said, my voice was light and detached. "She'll kill my family if I don't cooperate. This is the first time I could really escape, but I can't. She'll kill my Gran and my brother. She shows me pictures of them. She shows me pictures of my Gran sleeping in her bed at night and at the grocery store…. She has vampires watching them. They don't even know that they're in danger. If I cooperate, she'll leave my family alone. I don't want her to hurt them like they hurt me," I said.

"I'll tell you a secret though," I said, in a whisper, though I was louder than I meant to be.

"I think she'd hurt them anyway, just out of spite. Or Andre would," I said after a second thought. "He's creepy."

Russell made an impatient sound. "This would be so much easier if you could just be glamored," he said in a snippy voice.

"What did you do to me?" I asked, curious.

"I drugged you," he stated matter-of-factly. I burst out in giggles.

"I like it," I said and then burst out laughing again.

"What fun are you having here, Russell?" a loud woman's voice asked. They must have both been pretty old to be awake at this time. I giggled at the thought of how old they probably were.

"She was trying to help your child escape," Russell explained. So that must have been Lorena.

"You little human bitch!" she said. She stood motionless before abruptly grabbing me by the throat and lifting me up in the air. The pain was immediate and sharp enough to make tears run from my eyes, but with the drugs running through my veins, it was almost funny at the same time. I finally understood the allure of drug use.

"Put the human down," Russell said in a sharp, authoritative voice.

"She was trying to take what belongs to me," she hissed.

"I'm trying to get answers from her. Release the human, now," Russell said, his voice amplified with his anger.

Lorena leaned in close, rested her cheek against mine and whispered in my ear. "I'm going to rip your heart out and drink your blood. Nobody takes what is mine," she said.

"But you are torturing him," I mouthed. If not for the drugs in my system, I probably would have been panicking that I needed air. I could see spots flashing in my eyes, and I knew I would be dead soon. I fumbled around, trying to get her hands off of my neck. I felt something caught up in my hair, which was disarrayed and falling in my face, and then my hand went up to grab it.

"He is mine. I can torture him, I can kill him, I can fuck him and it's nobody's business because he is _mine_!" she screamed…and then she exploded.

I watched as the life left her eyes and she started flaking away, leaving ash and a sludgy mess where she once stood. Russell had caught me, luckily, and I finally took a deep, staggering breath that burned as the air reached my lungs. I looked down; my clothes were no worse for wear. That was good. It was a bitch trying to get blood out of clothes.

"She exploded," I stated. Russell looked pointedly at the wooden chopstick in my hand. Such an innocuous piece of wood.

"I didn't mean to," I whispered.

"I won't hold it against you. She threatened your life and you defended yourself. It was a fair fight, although I think I will be removing the chopsticks from the kitchen in the future," Russell laughed, ironically.

"I couldn't find any rubber bands," I admitted in a forlorn voice. Russell laughed, and even he seemed surprised at the fact that he'd laughed.

"Why aren't you mad?" I asked.

"She's always been more trouble than she's worth," he said with a small smile.

"I've been told the same thing," I sighed.

"The verdict is still out on whether you are worth the trouble or not. Time will tell if my new telepath is worth the trouble," he said.

"But my family…" I said, knowing the danger they'd be in when the Queen knew I'd gotten myself captured.

"I'll arrange them being brought here," he said.

"No please," I couldn't bring this fate on them. I couldn't let them be prisoners too.

"Don't worry. I will just relocate them here. I am a fair master. I will treat you far superior than your Queen does. She is known for her cruelty and savage ways. How do you think she got the job in the first place?" he asked.

"Probably killed the last guy," I said.

Russell laughed. "That was a rhetorical question. You are really a funny human when you are high," he mused. "She did indeed kill the last guy and his entire retinue as a matter of fact. The point is, she is a cruel Mistress and you will be safe with me."

"But I'll never be free," I said wistfully.

"No, I can't say you will. You are too valuable. You will learn to like me," he said.

I heard something happening nearby and he left me alone then as I drifted back into the darkness. My dreams were full of swirls of color, and I flew through the air like Superman…no, like Eric.

000ooo000

I became aware of someone poking me in the arm. My head was pounding again and now my throat burned as well.

"Miss Sookie! I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," I heard Bubba say in a loud whisper, through the dark. Bubba? That didn't make any sense.

"Bubba?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's me. I'm sorry she hurt you before I could get to you. We need to hurry. We need to get out of here," Bubba said. "I been trying to wake you for a long time, Miss Sookie. You sure had me worried."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Mr. Russell had you. He's really old and he can stay up later than most other vamps. I knocked him out. I'm sorry I was late," he said, morosely.

"How?" I asked, as he helped me sit up. I could see Russell's crumpled form on the floor across the room. He was still among the undead, but he was either unconscious or dead for the day from what I could tell.

"That's a secret between you and me," he said, very seriously. I looked into his eyes, and there was something in his eyes that I had only glimpsed earlier when we'd left the impromptu performance. A sort of intelligence that was hidden behind a mask.

"But why?" I asked. I still couldn't seem to push past the cloud of confusion.

"I still don't do well when I'm rememberin', Miss Sookie. You got me out of there when you saw I was starting to panic. I've heard about you. I've heard what you can do. You get that way sometimes too? When it all gets to be too much?" he asked.

I simply nodded.

"You were a human in a big group of vampires, and you helped me when I needed it. You could get in big trouble for stepping out-of-place like that Miss Sookie," he said.

"I couldn't just let you stand there and do nothing," I said, looking down.

He touched my chin and raised my face to look at him. "It was the nicest thing anyone's done for me in a long, long time. I don't like to sing much nowadays. It brings back too many memories. I don't want to remember," he said, hanging his head. I was simply in awe of him right then. Maybe Bubba wasn't really as dimwitted as he'd let on.

"Thank you for helping me," I said quietly. He nodded in quiet acceptance.

"Now, let's get Bill out of here, and then we need to get Miss Pam. I'm weak during the day," he said.

I was confused as to why he was still awake, but it was then that I really figured it out. Maybe I was a little slow, but being hit over the head, knocked out, and drugged is a pretty good excuse to be slow on the uptake, if you ask me. "You're a day-walker," I said, in complete awe.

"Day-walkers are just stories," he stated firmly as he untied my arms. I didn't remember being tied up.

"Yes, sir," I said respectfully. "You've earned my trust and respect. I will not divulge your secrets. I will never betray you. You have my word"

"I know you wouldn't, Miss Sookie. You're a good person," Bubba said with his trademark grin.

Bubba took my hand and helped me stand, keeping my hand until I was steady on my feet. Bubba put on a pair of big dark sunglasses and then grabbed the top half of Bill's blanket-wrapped body while I took his legs. We quickly and easily made our way to Pam's rental car. The trunk was already open (which was luckily a huge trunk), so we got him in and closed the trunk quickly. We went back to the room and I grabbed Pam's bag and a six-pack of blood, brought those down to the car. We then wrapped Pam in a blanket and put her in the trunk alongside Bill.

I dusted myself off quickly before getting into the Pam's rental car. I was dirty, bruised, and found a couple droplets of blood on my pants, but it could have been worse. I just wanted to get out of there.

Bubba got in the front seat next to me, and I drove us to the front gate. My heart was pounding, and I was positive that both Were guards knew I was nervous. They looked into the car, trying to figure out what I was up to, but the moment they caught Bubba's eyes, they were his. As far as Russell would know, a truck from the electric company was parked down the street for a little while, but they never saw us. We were never there. Bubba also got information on their security systems, or rather, the complete lack thereof. It was about time for the King of Mississippi to get with the times and get an electronic security system.

We drove for half an hour before I finally broke the silence.

"How did you find out you were a day-walker?" I asked. I stopped the car at a red light and the woman in the car next to us did a double take when she saw my passenger. I tried not to laugh.

Bubba smiled, but it was not a happy smile. "I know everyone thinks I'm stupid and I know that I'm not as smart as I used to be when I was human. I know I ain't a good vampire. So one day, I tried to meet the sun. I had been tired of life before I was turned. I did not want an unending life of misery. I stayed in the sun and I watched the sunrise for the first time in thirteen years," his smile turned soft as he reminisced.

"I don't do it often, you know, go into the daylight, but you never know when it may come in handy," he said.

"You are smarter than people think, aren't you?" I asked.

"I truly ain't a smart man anymore, and there are times that I…lose myself, but I _might_ pretend to be slower than I am," he said looking embarrassed. "They don't expect much from me. I just want to live my life, if you call it life," he stated, almost wistfully.

"So do I," I said.

"They're holding you hostage, aren't they Miss Sookie," Bubba said.

"Yes they are."

"Why don't you leave now? It's daytime. They can't catch you," he suggested, real excitement in his voice. "I can help you!"

"Bubba, they'll kill my Gran and brother if I escape," I said softly.

"We'll take them with us," he said, insistently.

"No. I know them. My Gran is probably even more stubborn than me, and that's really saying something. Jason thinks he's tough. He thinks he can handle anything. Neither of them will be willing to run. They wouldn't understand. I won't risk them," I said.

"That's mighty low of those vamps, threatening your family like that," Bubba said solemnly.

"Yes it is," I agreed. "And someday, that's going to come back and bite that bitch in the ass."

Bubba let out a good, hearty laugh that reminded me so much of the human man he once was.

We'd just passed the state border, back into Louisiana. I pulled into a small old-style gas station with a single pump. The attendant was not around as far as I could see.

"I should get some sleep," Bubba said.

"The back seat looks pretty big," I said.

"It'll be best if I go back with Miss Pam and Mr. Bill," he said. Bubba awkwardly climbed inside and shut the trunk behind him without another word. He got in just in time, before the attendant came out of the back room. I was really impressed with the trunk size of the Chevy Impala. All three of them fit in there. It was a tight fit, but they did fit. After he was secured and the car was full of gas, I drove around for a couple minutes until I found a Starbucks.

As I nursed my mocha, I drove on the back roads to get back to Shreveport. Back towards my prison. Back to New Orleans. Back to the Queen.

I fantasized about driving away and never looking back. I fantasized that Gran and Jason would come with me and we'd build a life in a new town. Jason could have a whole new town of girls to chase after. I wanted it so desperately, but I knew without any doubts that my brother and my grandmother were truly so stubborn that they would not run with me. I would never convince them to leave their home. They would never believe that there was such a danger out there that it was better to just run away.

So I was stuck. It was…humiliating to me that I was going to have to drive myself back. Nobody to escort me, nobody to hold the proverbial gun to my head to make me go back. I was going back of my own free will and a little part of me died with what I was doing. I was helping them keep me a prisoner. They used me, and abused me, and I was walking right back into my prison, willingly submitting to their will again. This time I would _know_ that I went willingly.

Good Lord, I was depressing myself. I turned up the radio and opened my window, and as terrible as my singing was, I belted out the words to the upbeat country song that was playing. Unfortunately, I had evidently not outgrown the tendency I had as a teenager to be a bit heavy on the gas pedal when I had the music blaring. Gran had me doing extra chores for her friends to make up for her paying for four speeding tickets in one month.

I saw the flashing red and white lights behind me, and my heart froze in my chest before taking off at a painful pace as though it was trying to escape the confines of my chest. First off, I was driving a rental car, but I was not authorized to drive it. Secondly, I was covered in bruises and still had spots of blood on me. Not too terribly noticeable…if not being pulled over by the police. Last, but most definitely not least, I had three dead bodies in the trunk! Two of whom would eventually burn if they were brought out into the open, even as overcast as it was.

I was frozen, trying to figure out what to do. I barely had the mental capacity to pull the car over. I hit the shoulder of the road at a little too much speed, and I almost lost control of the car as I hit the gravel on the shoulder, but I managed to stop.

I waited and watched the police officer in my rear view mirror. He sat in his car for several minutes before getting out of his cruiser. I rolled down the window, and begged my nerves to hold.

"Ma'am, do you know how fast you were going?" he asked, lowering his sun glasses, just enough so I could see his eyes. I could hear that he was already suspicious.

"No sir, I'm sorry. I've been driving a while and I turned up the music. I should have been paying more attention," I said. Sometimes honesty is the best policy.

"What is your name?" he asked, roughly.

"Tara, sir. Tara Thornton," I said, trying to think quickly. Sometimes honesty is the best policy. Sometimes it's not.

"Let me see your license and registration," he said.

_Right. License. Let's add that to the list of problems. I don't have a license, but even if it did, I am an escaped convict._ I could feel the tear welling in my eyes and there was nothing I could do about it, but mentally berate myself.

"Let me look," I said, and I clumsily started trying to open the glove box.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" he asked. He noticed my being upset and how badly my hands were shaking. He was pretty sure that I was on something.

"No, sir. I have just been having a really bad day and it seems to just be getting worse," I said, shakily.

"Ma'am, why don't you step out of the car while we get this figured out," he said.

I didn't say anything. I got out of the car and wondered what my chances of running were. The only problem was that I couldn't leave the vampires behind. It was still early enough in the day, so it's not like I could stall until dark when the vampires could just glamour the cop.

He led me to the back of the car and instructed me to put my hands on the trunk. He kicked my legs back and apart so that I was really leaning against the back of the car and it was harder for me to move without losing my balance. I waited while he checked the glove box himself.

"This is the registration of this rental vehicle and the rental agreement. Says here, the vehicle has been rented to a Pamela Ravenscroft. Is she aware that you are driving her rental?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. An emergency came up and she needed me to drive it," I explained.

He was still suspicious and was pretty sure that I'd stolen it. He took out his handcuffs, and I knew I was completely and utterly screwed. The best I could hope for is that the Queen wouldn't kill my family when I ended up back in jail…or Eric, when he found out that I allowed his vampire child to die in the sun, while I stood by and watched. Bill had been kind of an asshole, but from what I could see, Bubba and Pam were good people, good vampires, and I couldn't just let them die. Even Bill didn't deserve to die, not just for being an asshole. It wasn't his fault he had a large stick up his ass.

"Please sir. I have an irrational fear of being bound. Please don't put the cuffs on me," I said. Again, not a lie.

He started coming toward me, and that is when I made my stupidest mistake. It was really true that I had an irrational phobia of being tied up. It was not a conscious decision on my part. It was a strictly flight or fight response. I ran. Not far, mind you. I made it about 20 feet before being slammed face first into the rough gravel of the road shoulder. I struggled to get away, but he had his knee right at my kidney, and he put his weight right on that one special spot until I gave up the fight. The tears were now freely running as well as the snot. Not my finest hour.

He got me restrained and cuffed to the grill of his cruiser. I got from his mind that he was a small town cop, so they didn't have a big enough force to have much backup. The two other police officers were at a house fire fifteen miles away.

He started out by going through the small suitcase from the back seat of the car. Pam had a wooden stake in her bag. He held it up, and my heart sank.

"Been watching too many vampire movies, Miss?" he asked, with a big smirk on his face.

"My life _is_ kind of like a horror movie," I quipped. He was not amused with my poor attempt at humor. If only he knew. Oh, well. He would soon.

He roughly put the clothes and other stuff back into the suitcase. My tears started flowing even harder when he hit the little button on the key chain. I heard the trunk pop, but it didn't open all the way. I almost laughed in relief, but of course, it's never that easy. He pulled on the truck and it opened easily for him. He was completely silent for two full minutes, including his thoughts.

"Miss, I think you have a little explaining to do," he said when he finally looked back up. He picked up Bubba's limp hand, looking for a pulse, which, of course, he wasn't going to find. Bill and Pam were pretty well wrapped in blankets, but I could see the beginnings of smoke coming from the trunk. The cop didn't seem to notice that. I suppose it would be hard to notice a minor detail like than when a young, pretty twenty-five year old woman has three apparently dead bodies in the truck of a supposedly stolen car. Maybe I could say the bodies were already in there when I stole it? Kind of like the whole, 'It's not mine. I was holding it for a friend,' excuse.

Bubba! He was a day-walker! He would wake up and glamour the cop and it would all be fine!

"Bubba! Wake up! I need your help!" I yelled.

Now in the movies, this is the part where he would wake up at the last moment and save the day…or wake up and slaughter the cop and probably the woman too, depending on what genre of movie you were watching. However, this was my life, where fate seemed to be working against me. He did not wake up. He did not save the day. He didn't slaughter the cop, either, if I tried to look on the positive side of things. He may have been a day-walker, but it was evidently still very difficult for him to wake once he had died for the day.

The police officer closed the trunk back up, and headed toward his cruiser to call for backup. He sneered at me as he walked by. In his mind he was already thinking about the TV interviews and the possibility of a 'true crime' book deal.

"Who the hell kills an Elvis impersonator? What kind of sick monster are you?" he asked. He opened his car door but then paused as we both heard a car approaching. I could see in his mind that it was a flashy, black Mercedes, one of those sporty editions.

They pulled up alongside us and stopped in the middle of the road. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair lowered the passenger side window. She glanced at me with a puzzled look on her face and then turned her charms onto the police officer, even getting out of the car so she could use her perfect body as a distraction. I had always thought Jason's game was good, with how quickly he could charm a girl into bed with him, but he had nothing on her. In my emotionally frazzled state, it was hard not to laugh at the absurdity. She had him hook, line, and sinker.

I was listening in his head, and he no longer was thinking about the pretty crazy girl with three dead bodies in the trunk of her stolen car. He was wondering what he'd have to do to get the dark haired one to go on a date with him. He suddenly got that dazed look and emptied thoughts that I usually associated with a person being glamoured by a vampire. As I looked into her head, all I could hear and see was a bright white static that I'd never seen or heard before. She was something different than I'd ever seen and that thought made me nervous. It wasn't like I had much of a choice but to hope that she was going to help me.

He lifted the key to the cuffs and the woman held out her hand. He dropped them into her palm with a dazed smile on his face. The woman looked like she was expecting his reaction, patted him on the head like a dog, and then came over to unlock me.

"It looks like you've had quite the day," she said, as I rubbed my sore wrists. She held out her hand and I hesitantly took it.

"Claudine," she introduced herself.

"Sookie Stackhouse," I responded.

She looked surprised when I gave my name. She leaned in close and sniffed my neck. I jerked back from her and she laughed heartily.

"I'm not going to bite you, unlike the people you have in the trunk," she said. Her face showed her curiosity, and my own probably showed on my face.

"I can smell them, and I knew you were in trouble," she said.

"What are you?" I asked.

"That's not important now. You smell familiar," she said distractedly.

"I need to get out of here," I said. She was making me distinctly nervous. I didn't know why, but I just felt like I needed to get out of there. It was almost like she was the new predator that had just caught my scent.

"I would recommend you do so quickly," she said. "I will make sure that your car stays undetected until you arrive at your destination."

"You can do that?" I asked, impressed, but still wary.

"Oh, yes," she responded.

She waved her hand a little toward the car and I saw a slight shimmering around the car.

"Listen, Claudine," I said as I got back into the car. "Thank you for helping me. I was sure that this was going to be the end of the road for me."

"We have to stick together to keep our secrets," she said. I nodded.

She gave me a big hug, which was almost too much for me at that moment, and then we got back into our separate cars and drove away. The police officer smiled vacantly when Claudine waved goodbye. In my rear-view mirror, I saw him doing a U-turn and heading the other direction. It wasn't until I got to the Fangtasia construction site that I really felt like I could breathe again.

* * *

A/N: After writing this chapter, I realized that I think I got the idea for a smarter, daywalking Bubba from another fanfiction. I have been informed that the story was Dead for Real by ehee. I really enjoyed the idea of there being more to Bubba than meets the eye so thank you ehee for inspiring me! All credit for the smart, day-walking Bubba goes to her!

Thank you so much for reading and for those of you that have left such wonderful reviews. I appreciate the support and encouragement!


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